


Brave

by RaeMin



Series: SKZ Little Space AU [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: A+ caregivers, Caregiver, Little Space, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Ageplay, always aftercare, can y'all guess who my bias is, everyone is either a caregiver or a little, i am incapable of writing pure happiness, ill give you a hint his name ends in hoe, panic attacks (brief), reluctance to be little, stray kids - Freeform, there will be much angst you have been warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2020-05-07 20:45:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19217206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeMin/pseuds/RaeMin
Summary: "Hyung, are you a little?Minho's lower lip wobbled and his eyes went as wide as saucers as he stared back in disbelief at his members."W-what?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back! WOW I haven't written anything in literal months (if you're a fan of my other works I am SO SORRY) but somehow this idea just came to me and HAD to be written. I'm actually almost completely finished with this - the rest will be posted in increments as I finish editing! Hope you all enjoy - please leave a comment if you'd like. I love hearing from you all. <3

 If you asked Minho, "brave" is not a word that he would use to describe himself.

"Good dancer?" maybe, "mediocre member?" sure, "decent hyung?" possibly, depending on the day.

But "brave?" no way. Lee Minho was anything  _but_ brave. 

No, the word Minho had been secretly using to describe himself for the past ten years was definitely not a strong, positive word like "brave" was. 

Minho's chosen word was a lot darker, a lot more cynical, a lot angrier.

Minho's chosen word was Liar.

\---

Being the third oldest in a band of literal maniacal _children_ was not an easy task. An insane task which was frequently made to be even more difficult by how many littles were in the group. In Stray Kids, caregivers outnumbered littles by only one - a feat which was nearly unheard of. Usually, most groups in the industry capped at two or three littles maximum, but as Chan had hand-selected their lineup and they had fought to stay as nine - it had been allowed. 

That's not to say it was easy.

The first few months as unit trainees had been the most difficult. Jisung had refused to be little around Hyunjin, Felix had struggled immensely with communicating in Korean when he was little (and when he was big), and Jeongin had been so insecure about his identity as a little. 

It could have been a train-wreck. It could have easily torn their entire unit apart from the seams long before debuting was even in the question. But Chan and Woojin made an excellent front, and even though Hyunjin was young, he learned quickly. 

Minho, on the other hand, was a big fucking mess.

Minho didn't know how to deal with a crying Jisung, how to soothe Felix when he was homesick, or how to help Seungmin calm down after a bad nightmare. He didn't know how to change a diaper or make a bottle when one of them was feeling younger than normal. He didn't know how to talk Jeongin down when his bad thoughts got too loud.

It was hard to think rationally or logically about those things when nearly all of the time, Minho's first instinct was to join in when the younger ones cried. 

With how utterly  _horrible_ Minho was at passing as a caregiver, it was a miracle that no one had caught onto him yet.

\---

Originally, Minho had planned on being open with the other members about his identity. He had met Chan first, followed by Chan and Woojin together. It had been a miracle that he hadn't dropped right then, as the aura of safety and protection those two gave off was to die for. 

He had planned to tell the two the next time they hung out alone, but that had never happened again after the first time. Chan had introduced him to Jisung and Changbin, the former a little and the latter another caregiver. Minho had immediately begun to second guess himself after seeing how cute Jisung was, and how Chan and Woojin looked at the boy like he held the moon in his eyes. 

It continued to go downhill from there. Hyunjin - another caregiver, and Seungmin - another little, had been introduced to him shortly after. Minho bit his lip as Seungmin told him how old (or rather, young) he was. When Felix and Jeongin joined, both littles and the same age or younger than Seungmin, Minho had pretty much already made up his mind. 

He was clearly a hyung. 

He needed to be around to help Chan and Woojin with the younger ones (even though he wasn't really all that good at it). And besides, Chan and Woojin had thought Minho was a caregiver from the start, so maybe he wasn't as much of a little as he thought he was? 

Nah, Minho knew that was bullshit. He knew his classification wasn't a mistake, was confident that he  _definitely was not_ a caregiver. 

But then again, Minho didn't really look like the average little.

Jeongin was freaking  _adorable_ and had the maknae status to go along with it. Felix had developed an inseparable bond with Chan very early on and was always so well behaved and adorable. Seungmin was a soft-spoken sweetheart that had quickly wormed his way into Hyunjin's heart and had motivated the older to listen closely to Chan and Woojin to become a better caregiver. And Jisung? That little baby squirrel couldn't fool a  _soul_ into thinking he wasn't a little.

And then, enter Minho.

Minho was tall, and older, and sassy. Minho was grumpy in the mornings and wasn't one for cuddles. Minho was a  _hyung_ for crying out loud.

Chan and Woojin had quickly made it clear that they didn't think he was a little when he had been introduced to the others as a caregiver. The first time it had happened, he had thought it was a slip of the tongue and had meant to talk to Chan about it later. But when a crying Felix had been thrust into Minho's arms while Chan had to run out of the practice room to talk to a manager, Minho realized that Chan, and by default all of the others, definitely thought that he was a caregiver.

Minho would be lying if he said it didn't hurt.

Minho had never been the most secure person on the planet. He had always second-guessed his classification. He wasn't cute and cuddly and adorable like Jisung. He wasn't always smiley like Felix. Minho wasn't any of those things - and Chan and Woojin knew it too.

He had tried to not let it get to him, he really had. Minho had thrown himself into being the best possible hyung for the younger members, and had tried his best to follow Chan and Woojin's - and even sometimes Hyunjin's - teachings. 

The course of their survival show had been the time when it was hardest to keep himself hidden. Minho had almost slipped up so many times. The only time Minho had truly lost it was when he was eliminated. He had seen it coming from a mile away - he  _knew_ he wasn't as talented as the other members. And he would rather himself be eliminated than any of the other members. No one else deserved to feel that way.

He had felt it creeping up when he hugged the others goodbye. They had been crying, but Minho had held it together. He somehow hadn't cried when Felix had started sobbing, and when Chan had looked at him with such raw  _disappointment_ and sadness, Minho hadn't lost it either.

He didn't truly cry until he was back at the empty dorm. The others had to stay at the set longer while Minho had been sent back to pack up his things. The second he had stepped foot into the silent space, the sobs were ripping their way up his throat before he could stop them. He had crumpled to the floor, crying out for something, someone, anything to help him feel better. Reaching out, his fingers curled around something soft, bleary eyes recognizing it to be one of Jisung's many soft blankets. He had clutched onto it desperately, pulling it towards his body and eventually beginning to suck on it as well when his crying finally died down. 

An hour later, all of his stuff (plus the blanket) was packed up and Minho had left the dorm.

\---

The break between Minho's elimination and finally debuting as nine was incredibly difficult for Minho to handle. He had, essentially, been left on his own. He had moved into a separate dorm, with a few other hopeful trainees that were never around. Thus, Minho was left to his own devices most of the time.

He vaguely remembers crying through the first night, and if any of the other new trainees he was living with had heard him, they hadn't ever mentioned it. They had never asked why a caregiver woke up crying for someone named Chan most nights. They had never confronted him about how snarky he was, how grumpy he acted, or how biting out a, "You're not Woojin, fuck off" anytime one of them tried to talk to him was likely not helping.

After a week or so, Minho was finally able to pull himself together enough to start practicing at the company again. He built his walls back up, and breathed through the discomfort of throwing himself into a routine when he hadn't left his bed in several days. 

It was easy to block it out. To throw himself back into training, to become better so that he would hopefully be good enough to not be eliminated next time. Thinking of a 'next time' hurt. Minho didn't want there to be a next time. He had wanted the 'now' with Stray Kids.

Minho hadn't heard so much as a text from any of the other members in weeks. Logically, he knew that was because they weren't allowed to be on their phones during the show. But it hurt, having gone from eight close family members to  _no one._

It was a Thursday when it happened. Minho can still remember the look on Felix's face when he had entered the practice room and their eyes had locked. Felix had initially fixed him with a dull expression, one that Minho himself was much too familiar with. 

It was a look of agony. A look of hopelessness after having gone from having everything, to losing it all. 

Minho turned, staring back at Felix who had slowly started to crumble. Minho's suspicion certainly couldn't be right, could it? Not  _Felix._

But as Felix darted across the practice room to lunge himself into Minho's arms, Minho knew. 

\---

Minho had smuggled Felix into his new room with only a few strange looks from the other trainees. He barked out a, "this is Felix, he lives here now," followed by a threatening glare, before pulling a crying Felix into his room and closing the door behind them.

"Shh, Felix, honey, it's okay", Minho attempted to comfort, but it appeared to be falling on deaf ears. Felix was a  _mess,_ and Minho felt so  _angry_ at the others for not finding some way to warn him. Felix should not have had to go through this alone. 

Felix took a few shaky, heartbreaking breaths before sobbing out, "Wan', wan' A-appa,".

Minho didn't know what to do. So he did the best thing he could think of. He pulled Felix close, and for once, let himself be vulnerable and join in on the crying.

"I-I know, Felix. I do too."

\---

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Felix and Minho had become inseparable, clinging on to each other for dear life to help them both get through the hurt. They practiced together, ate together, and Minho began teaching Felix Korean again. 

It wasn't much, but they were making the best of it.

Until one of their old managers approached them while they were practicing, and they were both hauled into a meeting where they were told there was a possibility for them to come back to Stray Kids.

Felix's face had lit up like a Christmas tree, but Minho was filled with nothing but dread. He honestly didn't know if he could do this again. Being eliminated from his family once had been hard enough, but having to go through that twice? Minho didn't know if he could handle that.

But the look on Felix's face as he turned to Minho, begging him with his eyes to agree, was enough to give Minho just a little bit more hope.

\---

They had debuted as nine.

It was the most relief Minho thought that he had ever felt. The feeling of finally having something to lose and having it ripped away from you was debilitating, to say the least, but the feeling of having it given back? Unbeatable.

\---

Minho had been a bit aloof the first few weeks he had been back. 

It was kind of hard not to. He was so, so incredibly relieved to be a part of Stray Kids again and to finally be debuting, but his return to the group was not met in the same way that Felix's had been.

It was to be expected, really. He knew the other members were happy to have him back - the hugs from all of them and the teary eyes their first night at the dorm together were enough to tell him that. He and Chan had exchanged some words, the conversation ending in Chan telling Minho how happy he was to have him back.

It had made Minho feel all warm and fuzzy, until he had entered the living room where Felix was. 

Woojin was holding Felix close, while Changbin was running a hand through his hair. Hyunjin was rubbing his legs, while Chan was standing in the doorway smiling fondly at them all. 

That was fine, it was fine. Minho knew Felix was a lot more into skinship than he was, no big deal. But no one said anything as Minho quietly excused himself to go to bed for the night.

Minho froze in the doorway as he heard Woojin quietly begin to soothe Felix after the boy started getting emotional again.

"Hush, sweetheart. You're here with us now, you're okay. This never should have happened, not to our little baby, Lixie. You're okay, baby. Shh,"

Minho ducked into his room and shut the door before anyone could see the tears.

\---

Once things had died down after the official debut of Stray Kids, it was a lot easier for Minho to keep his emotions in check. 

It was a lot easier to stifle the hurt when he wasn't so emotionally vulnerable. It was loads easier to keep his childish emotions and fears in check when he wasn't constantly afraid of being kicked out of the group again.

That's not to say that there weren't bumps in Minho keeping his secret. There had been several interviews and fan-signs where Minho had almost lost it, forgetting where he was and remembering at the last second that biting Jisung for snatching a stuffed animal away from him was definitely not a very  _caregiver-like_ way to behave. There were several times when Minho almost raised his hand at the wrong time when interviewers would ask which of them were littles and which of them were caregivers. 

Perhaps the most unnerving of them all were the moments that Minho had a sneaking suspicion that Woojin might know. Among all of them, Woojin was, hands-down, the most observant - especially among the caregivers. When Jisung would begin to bite on his sweater sleeves, or when Jeongin would begin digging his nails into his thighs or snapping the bands on his wrist, Woojin would catch it no matter how discreet the two had tried to be. When Seungmin would emerge from his room in the morning with red eyes with bags underneath them, Woojin always knew exactly what the boy needed. 

So when Woojin's eyes would linger on Minho during the few moments that he faltered in keeping his story straight, Minho would get his hopes up a tad. He was waiting for the moment that Woojin's caregiver voice would be turned on him, focused on him directly. Minho dreamed of it sometimes - what it must feel like to have Chan and Woojin's undivided attention to help him get into his headspace. What it would feel like to have Chan hold him while Woojin prepared him a bottle, what it would feel like to call them-

Minho blinked, shaking his head to clear out such thoughts. He wasn't allowed to think about such things. Felix, Jisung, Jeongin, and Seungmin could think like that all they wanted, but Minho wasn't allowed to.

Sometimes that made him mad. Sometimes Minho wanted to throw a fit and start crying and throwing things until someone, anyone, finally paid attention to him. He didn't care that they would likely just throw him in the time-out corner and forget about him, at least at that point they would finally  _know_ and Minho could stop being forced to put so much time and effort into hiding things. 

Minho had even thought about just blurting it out while they were having movie nights, or during practice, or even in the studio. Sometimes the tension would build up so much he could almost taste it, and the thought of holding back one second longer would make his head feel like it was going to explode. But then Jeongin would make a snarky comment about the female lead in the drama they were currently all watching together being cowardly for hiding her classification from her love interest, and Minho would freeze and begin to overthink everything again. Minho would build himself up to watch it all break down when Seungmin would look confused when Chan tried to explain to him that sometimes, littles could choose to self-identify as caregivers. Seungmin would protest, saying something along the lines of, "But hyung, that'd be so hard! Almost impossible! The hormones, dropping, DNA screaming to be taken care of, how do they just turn that off?" 

Minho remembered how he had startled, eyes wide, staring at Seungmin. Because if that was truly as impossible as Seungmin had claimed, how had Minho been able to do it for the past year?

Minho had struggled with each of the points that Seungmin had made. His head constantly screamed at him to drop. He cried himself to sleep at night far more often than he would care to admit. The only semblance of being little that Minho held was the blanket he had, unknown to Jisung, stolen from him the day he had been eliminated. 

But, Minho was in too deep now. He had lied by omission for much too long for his actions to not have consequences. Even though it initially had not been his fault, he still hadn't ever corrected Chan. He still hadn't been truthful about what he needed or asked the others to take care of him. He knew if he were to be open about it now, that they would be mad at him. And Minho was prepared to do whatever it took to keep from being kicked out of the group again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be coming soon! Let me know what you think might happen! 
> 
> (Also if you're interested: I have several other fics (little space, hybrid au, abo au) written about Monsta X and BTS as well!)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to part 2! I'm anticipating there to be 4 parts total to this - with a possible epilogue if that's what the people want. If you re-read the first part to this, this section flows a bit better!

"Han Jisung," Chan said firmly, causing everyone in the room to freeze. Woojin's eyes flickered up curiously, away from his phone and towards the scene starting in the kitchen entryway. Minho just so happened to be caught in the crossfire as well, having entered the kitchen a few moments prior for a glass of water.

Jisung had missed curfew. Again. Their upcoming comeback had them all on edge, but Jisung seemed to be faring the worst. He had been staying late to practice and rehearse, despite Chan trying to get him to come home. But curfew was not an exception for anyone - caregivers included. 

Jisung huffed, tugging the refrigerator open with way more force than necessary. Minho could tell shit was about to hit the fan, so he slowly tried to creep towards the door of the kitchen. However, Chan was still blocking his exit so Minho settled for backing in close to the counter. 

"Jisung, you know how we feel about you missing curfew. We didn't know where you were, and you weren't answering your phone." Chan said, voice strict. Minho had to consciously keep from curling in on himself at Chan's tone.

"Hyung, my phone died because it was the one connected to the stereo all day when we were practicing. I lost track of time, can't you just forget about it?" Jisung snapped. Minho flinched.

"Maybe I could 'just forget about it' if it were the first time it's happened this week, Jisung. But this is the third time, and you've already been warned twice. You know breaking rules comes with consequences." 

Jisung stiffened at that, face growing red. Chan continued to speak, "Woojin and I both tried to ask you nicely to come home with us earlier. We could have spent a nice evening together, cuddled up and playing. You could have relaxed, and let Woojin or-"

"I didn't  _need_ that today, hyung. If I did, I would have asked for it. I needed to stay and practice, so I did." From the corner of the kitchen, Woojin rose from his seat and made his way towards Jisung and Chan. Minho stayed hidden away in the corner.

"Jisung. You know we don't tolerate that tone." Woojin warned, voice as soft as ever. He never raised his voice, especially at the littles. 

Jisung huffed, and even _Minho_ could tell how frustrated, tired, and in need of a drop Jisung was. "Of course, now you're gonna gang up on me, too!"

"You know that's not what this is. You have broken several rules today. You could have chosen to come home with the rest of us, or before curfew. You know perfectly well what got you here, Jisung. You could have let me, or Chan, or Minho-"

At the same time that Minho tensed at the sudden mention of his name, Jisung let out a sarcastic laugh. "Like I would ever go to  _Minho._ He's about as comforting as a bag of rocks." 

The room went silent, Chan and Woojin sharing the same stunned look. Jisung was never one to speak so unkindly, let alone about one of their members. Jisung, whose anger was fueled by the silence, glared up at Woojin, but upon following Woojin's eyes to the figure stood silently in the corner, all traces of anger were gone as quick as they started, and Jisung's eyes filled with tears. 

He hadn't even known Minho was in the room.

Jisung took a step towards Minho, who hadn't moved in the few moments of silence, eyes still downcast. "Hyung, I-"

Minho flinched as though someone had hit him, eyes shooting up to Jisung. "It's fine, Ji. I know I'm not the best." Minho started, clearing his throat in an attempt to make his voice more stable. "I'm going to go lie down." Minho excused himself, gently pushing past Chan and out into the hallway. Minho could hear Jisung begin to cry and Chan and Woojin's mixed voices as he closed his bedroom door.

\---

That wasn't the first time a situation like that had happened. Turns out, Minho was just as bad at being a caregiver as he was at being a little.

The following week, a similar scenario had arisen. Minho had been pacing back and forth in the living room for over an hour, nervously gnawing at his lower lip. Jeongin hadn't gotten back to the dorm yet, and he was supposed to be home from school nearly two hours ago. He hadn't been answering his phone, so while the others had gone to various locations to look for the boy, Minho had stayed back at the dorm to alert the others if Jeongin got back.

Minho froze as he heard keys jingling in the door. He held his breath as the door was opened, revealing a red-eyed Jeongin.  

"Oh thank  _god_ ," Minho gasped out, rushing towards the younger to give him a hug and make sure he was okay.

"Get  _off_ me!" Jeongin snapped, pushing Minho's chest hard enough to cause his back to hit the wall uncomfortably.

"Jeongin? What's wrong? What happened?" Minho questioned, desperate to get to the bottom of the situation and find out why their maknae was so upset.

" _Nothing_ happened, just leave me alone!" Jeongin snapped again, attempting to get past Minho and to his room, likely to slam his door in the older's face. Minho quickly took in Jeongin's tired, rain-soaked appearance and came up with the best solution he could. 

"Listen, you're cold and you're all wet. Why don't you let me run you a bath, okay? Warm you up-"

That seemed to be the breaking point for Jeongin. Minho knew how sensitive a topic bath time was for Jeongin, so he really should have known better than to bring it up - he really should have known Jeongin would be upset but Minho was  _panicking._

"Fuck  _off,_ you're not my caregiver, you're not even good at it! Just go away and leave me alone!"

This time, Minho let Jeongin shove past him and into his room where he slammed the door shut. Numbly, he pulled out his phone and sent a text into their group chat letting the others know that Jeongin was back at the dorm. Then he once again excused himself to his room to curl up under his covers and cry. 

\---

The most prominent instance of Minho's cover being blown would, of course, involve Chan - one of their most observant members.

Minho had been left alone to watch Felix and Jisung - a horror duo if there ever was one. It wasn't so much that the two misbehaved - but rather Minho could never understand how they had so much  _energy._

"Lix,  _please,_ work with me here," Minho attempted to reason with the boy who was currently in a headspace no older than 5. Felix and Jisung usually stuck to a similar headspace - especially when they were together. 

Minho was still attempting to put Felix's onesie back on - it was far too cold in their dorm with a broken air conditioner that kept the room way colder than they would prefer. "Lix, you'll get sick, honey." Minho tried to reason for the millionth time. 

Felix froze, eyes going wide. If there was anything any of the littles hated - it was getting sick. "Sick?" Felix questioned, lower lip wobbling.

Minho was in dangerous territory. Damn it. If Chan or Woojin or even Changbin or Hyunjin were here, all they would have to do is fix Felix with a  _look_ and he would cooperate. But Minho did not have the same effect on the littles.

"If you let me help you put your onesie back on, you're not gonna get sick." Minho attempted to backtrack. 

But the damage had already been done apparently, as Felix burst into tears when he heard the door being unlocked and Chan's voice filling the entryway. Chan was immediately drawn to the sound of crying, as all caregivers were. Minho, however, was fully prepared to drop the squirming little he'd been trying to wrestle back into his onesie and run away.

The second Felix saw Chan, he elbowed Minho hard in the gut while flinging himself at Chan, bursting into loud, completely unnecessary tears.

"Lixie, baby, what's wrong?" Chan asked, fixing Minho with a questioning look.

"Minnie h-hyung say I get sick," Felix wailed, while Minho helplessly held up the onesie Felix was  _still_ not wearing in hopes that Chan would understand. 

"Oh baby, Minnie hyung was just trying to make sure you didn't get cold!" Chan said, and like magic, Felix calmed down and Chan took the onesie from Minho. Within fifteen seconds, Felix was all wrapped up and toasty, eyes devoid of tears and being sent off to go play with Jisung.

Minho shrunk in defeat, blinking away tears as he angrily glared down at the floor. He didn't look up when Chan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm  _horrible_ with them," Minho said, voice barely above a whisper. 

Minho took Chan's stunned silence as confirmation, and before Chan could say anything else, Minho was out the door.

\---

While Minho thought he was clever and seamless in hiding the fact that he was a little, there had been several instances in which questions had been raised. 

There had been times when Woojin's stare would linger a bit longer than Minho was comfortable with when Minho was pretending to not want to drop to the floor and play with the toys Jisung and Jeongin were playing with. Woojin didn't miss the few longing stares he managed to catch as Chan gently carted Felix off to bed for storytime and cuddles. 

Chan had almost confronted Minho when Woojin had brought these few things to his attention. But Woojin had requested that Chan wait for Minho to come to them. After all, Minho was very quiet and rarely opened up about his past. The two oldest caregivers didn't know if something had happened in Minho's past for him to want to hide something from them, and didn't want to push him before he was ready.

It wasn't until Minho had started slipping up and spacing out during practices that Woojin began to worry they were doing the wrong thing. It was nearing the anniversary of the Stray Kids survival show eliminations - Felix had been a mess as of late, little almost nightly and crying for the others not to leave him again almost constantly. 

Minho had been flying under the radar mostly, as Felix was taking up much of the caregiver's attention. And as Seungmin was a very empathetic little, he would drop and burst into tears if he saw Felix upset and crying. 

Needless to say, the caregivers had their hands full.

But it wasn't until a meeting with their management, that Minho lost it as well. One of the managers who had been with Stray Kids since the start had fixed both Minho and Felix with a joking stare, making the statement of, "you two working hard? We certainly don't want some repeat eliminations, do we?". The insensitive manager had been the only one laughing as Chan had to take Felix out of the room.

Minho had been frozen as well, beyond hurt by the joke. But once again, his pain went unnoticed as the other members were all concerned for Felix's wellbeing more than Minho's.

Minho's breathing stuttered, and suddenly he wasn't breathing at all. All he could feel was the crushing, blind panic of being eliminated. The pain of being told he had to leave his family, and the hurt of not being missed as much as Felix had been, not being as  _needed_ for the group as Felix was, began to close in on him.

Minho must have let out a sound he wasn't aware of making, as suddenly he felt multiple pairs of eyes on him. He thought he heard someone say his name, but why were they focusing on Minho instead of Felix? Felix was the one that needed help, Minho was fine, Minho was  _always_ fine - 

A set of warm arms wrapping around him brought Minho back closer to the surface. He would know that scent anywhere - Woojin.

"Shh, Minnie, you're okay, you're okay, baby," Woojin soothed gently, and Minho couldn't help but relax. It was the first time in so long that such caring words had been spoken to Minho. Words that were actually for  _him_ , that he didn't have to live vicariously through. 

Minho blinked his eyes open slowly, only realizing the position he was in after he had calmed down. Minho didn't remember how he got on the floor, but he was currently sat basically in Woojin's lap, as the older was continuously rubbing his back.

Minho stiffened. He shouldn't be receiving this attention, he didn't deserve it. Woojin should be with Felix, not wasting his time calming Minho down.

But, surely, it wouldn't hurt if Minho soaked up the attention for a few minutes longer? Chan and a few of the others had left to be with Felix, so surely Felix would be okay without Woojin, at least for a bit longer?

No, Minho reasoned. It was selfish to take a caregiver away from Felix. Minho pulled away from Woojin, wiping his eyes and shifting backward a few inches. Just enough to be off of Woojin's lap, but not far enough to be out of his reach completely. 

"I, s-sorry, I..." Minho tried to start, but he didn't have the words. 

"Minho," Woojin started softly, and Minho  _knew_ that tone. It was one that was used on the littles to help them drop, so why the hell was Woojin using it on _him_?

Minho flinched away, quickly getting to his feet, suddenly wanting to be as far away from Woojin as possible.

"Y-you should be with Felix, I'm fine, hyung." 

\---

Hyunjin had begun to notice a change in Minho's behavior as well. As Hyunjin was the youngest caregiver in the group, he had taken to educating himself as thoroughly as possible. 

He wanted to be the best caregiver he could possibly be. He had stellar examples to look up to - Woojin and Chan made such an amazing team, and Changbin was always willing to explain something to him if Hyunjin struggled with understanding.

Perhaps Hyunjin's excessive studying was why he was the first to confront Minho about his suspicions. 

While Chan and Woojin had made each other aware, Woojin hadn't yet had a chance to mention any of his worries about Minho to Hyunjin or Changbin. So when Hyunjin brought his suspicions to Changbin, Changbin was understandably quite clueless about the situation. Which left Hyunjin to do his own sleuthing.

Hyunjin had started by keeping a closer eye on Minho than normal. When some of his suspicions had been confirmed - Minho staring at the other caregivers (most of the time mainly Chan and Woojin) as they interacted with the littles. Hyunjin also observed the clumsy way Minho had always interacted with the littles. Unlike Chan, Woojin, Changbin, or himself, Minho would shy away from a crying little. Minho would also readily and willingly hand off a crying little to another caregiver - something Hyunjin would never want to do. Minho would always refrain from playing on the floor with the littles - and on the rare occasion that he did, he wouldn't do it for long.

Hyunjin had been taken a bit off guard by how much he and the others had been missing. 

He thought about taking his concerns to Chan but wanted to be absolutely sure of himself first. He didn't want to worry their stressed leader until he was certain.

So while Minho was out of the dorm rehearsing one evening, Hyunjin took his chance. He stood still outside of Minho's bedroom door, hand hesitating on the knob. 

Minho had  _one_ rule.  _Just one._ And Hyunjin was about to break it by entering his hyung's room without asking.

Hyunjin steeled himself. If he could find proof to help his hyung, it would all be worth it.

Hyunjin quickly flung open the door, ducking out of the hallway and into the bedroom before anyone could see him. He flipped on the lights and looked around quizzically.

He couldn't remember the last time, or even if he had even been inside of Minho's room. Minho was the only one who had a room to himself - the little's loved rooming together and sharing beds, and Chan and Woojin shared a room, while Changbin and himself shared the other. 

Minho's room was small, so Hyunjin was hoping it wouldn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

He began by flopping down onto his stomach to look under the bed. Nothing. He pulled Minho's dresser drawers open to find nothing but perfectly organized t-shirts, boxers, and socks. Hyunjin pulled open anything else he could find and looked in every crevice and potential hiding place that he could see - but he still found nothing.

Just when the guilt of having broken his hyung's trust without justification had begun to set in, Hyunjin noticed a small lump at the top of Minho's bedding.

Holding his breath, Hyunjin carefully peeled the bedding back, only to furrow his brows in confusion. There, at the top of Minho's bedding, carefully tucked in to not draw any suspicion, was one of Jisung's old blankets. 

Alarm bells went off in Hyunjin's head because he knew exactly when that blanket had gone missing. Jisung had cried about not being able to find it for an hour before Chan helped him settle down with a new blanket. They had all been stressed, all of them had been crying.

Jisun's blanket wasn't the only thing that had left the dorm that day.

Minho had left too.

\---

At the front of the dorm, Hyunjin heard the door opening and closing - likely signaling Minho's return for the evening. In a panic, Hyunjin grabbed the blanket from its hiding place and pulled the covers back up. Hyunjin did a haphazard twirl of the room, making sure everything was as he left it. 

He just narrowly dodged being spotted leaving Minho's room, and a quick maneuver into the bathroom was the only thing that saved him. In the privacy of the bathroom, heart still hammering from nearly being caught, Hyunjin took a closer look at the blanket. 

"Well, shit," Hyunjin muttered. At first, Hyunjin hadn't been sure whether Minho had taken the blanket from the dorm the night he was eliminated to have something to remind him of the little's - or if he took it because he  _was_ a little and wanted it for comfort. 

Hyunjin didn't have to wonder for long. One look at the blanket revealed it to be far more tattered and worn than it had been a year before, the last time Hyunjin had seen it. One of the corners had a tell-tale sign of being sucked and chewed on.

Hyunjin's heart hurt.

Why hadn't Minho told them? Why had he been hiding this for so long?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment! Feedback of all sorts is always welcome. :) Next update coming in two days!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it's the moment we've all been waiting for - Minho's secret is revealed! Just to keep you all updated - I plan on doing other parts of this series surrounding the other littles after this work is completed! I hope to do one for Jisung, Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin - exploring all of their backstories that I hinted at in the first couple of chapters. Not sure when those will be up - but hopefully soon!

Minho was  _exhausted._

Their dance instructor had requested Minho to stay back an extra hour or two to learn the next section of choreography so he would be able to teach it to the other members the next day. Being the main dancer definitely had its cons.

By the time Minho was allowed to follow the others back to the dorms, three hours had passed. He announced his arrival back home, hearing several yells in return. Despite being exhausted, Minho was in a good mood. Hearing that the others were happy to have him home brought a smile to his face.

Minho dragged his feet down the hallway towards his room to grab a change of clothes before heading to the shower. He barely dodged Hyunjin dashing into the restroom.

Minho didn't question much as he opened his bedroom door - everything appeared to be as normal. He grabbed a clean t-shirt to sleep in, as well as some sweatpants. 

After showering and spending some time with the other members throughout dinner and joining them for a movie in the living room afterward, Minho decided it was time for bed. He hugged everyone goodnight, which was somewhat out of the ordinary but gosh dang it Minho was in a good mood for once so he was embracing it.

Minho washed his face and brushed his teeth, then headed back across the hallway to his room. He shut the door behind him and made his way to his bed to unmake it for the night. He pulled down the covers, instinctually reaching for -

Wait.

Minho's heart stuttered.

After double checking that his blanket wasn't in the normal place, Minho began to panic. He  _always_ left it safely tucked away every morning before leaving. He'd done that for a year.

"Okay, okay..." Minho breathed, trying to keep himself calm while looking under his bed, in his closet, in all of his dresser drawers.

Tears welled up in his eyes as Minho ripped his bed apart, tossing previously meticulously made bedding across the room in search of his blanket. 

Minho let out a muffled sob as he checked the last possible place his blanket could be. Any semblance of his good mood thrown out the window as Minho curled up into his messy bedding for comfort.

It might sound silly - a blanket going missing, but to Minho, it was like the floor had been ripped out from beneath him. The one comfort item Minho owned was  _missing_ and Minho didn't know where his blanket was or who had it or who  _saw it_ after coming into  _his room._

Minho froze at that. Who would have been in his room? Woojin maybe, if he hadn't put his laundry in the proper place, or if his bedding needed washing - but Minho was too good at doing his own laundry to require Woojin's interference. Chan would have no reason to, and he was never one to disrespect people's boundaries. That's what Minho's bedroom  _was_ to him. A  _boundary._

So who in the dorm would have taken his blanket? Surely it couldn't have just up and ran away.

Minho curled tighter around the bedding helplessly. Hours passed while he did nothing but toss and turn. He knew it would be useless. Trying to sleep without his blanket was _impossible._

Minho let out yet another frustrated cry - no longer caring who might hear him. He was in pain and he was frustrated and he was lonely and he was so  _tired._

Minho finally resigned to his sleep-deprived fate when his morning alarm went off and he still hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He was numb as he fumbled around for his practice clothes. He was the first into the bathroom and did what little he could to erase the red in his eyes from crying so much, along with the bags under his eyes from not sleeping.

Minho glared tiredly at his reflection, irritated that he couldn't survive even  _one_ night without a stupid  _baby blanket._

After his shower, Minho attempted to style his hair in a way that would cover most of his face without making it  _too_ obvious. Just as he began to hear the voices of the others emerging from their rooms, Minho left the bathroom just in time to sit down with the others for breakfast.

Minho should have known this wouldn't be easy.

It started when Woojin handed him his plate of breakfast. For a moment, Minho had stared dumbly at his utensils before remembering that no one was going to feed him. He struggled for a few moments with the chopsticks, until he decided to resort to his hands. He figured the quicker he ate, the less likely any of the other members would be to ask why he was eating that way.

Minho should have known something was off when Jisung attempted to show him a video in the van on the way to the company, and Minho had been unable to use actual words. Instead, he had just whined, gently shrugging Jisung away to curl back up and close his eyes.

When they had arrived at the company, he was confused when the other members had turned to him. Then he remembered that he was supposed to teach them all new choreography today.

_UGH._

Minho sighed, beginning to stretch. He attempted to jump around slightly, just to wake his body up and act as though he was functioning, at the very least.

He missed all of the concerned glances he had been receiving all morning as he turned to start playing the music.

 ---

Practice was a struggle. And that was putting it lightly.

It would have been better if Minho could slink to the back of the room like usual. But of course he would get stuck teaching today. It would have been so much easier to pass as though he was okay if all eyes weren't on him all the time. Minho was so tired that he was stumbling through the moves, and by the time he successfully taught at least Felix the basics, Minho didn't know how much more he could take. 

Fortunately for him, Chan decided to call it a day. They had been working on choreographies old and new for roughly six hours, and Chan didn't know how much longer he could watch Minho struggle for.

Chan locked eyes with Woojin, who looked just as concerned as he felt. Maybe waiting for Minho to come to them wasn't the best option.

By the time they returned to the dorm, Minho looked like a dead man walking. Before Minho could protest, Jeongin dropped to the floor to take off his shoes. Woojin watched as Minho looked as though he was about to protest, but didn't have the energy.

Jeongin stood, and tentatively grasped Minho's arm, leading him into the living room. Woojin followed with questioning eyes. Jeongin sat Minho on the couch, and the oldest hyung and the maknae watched as Minho curled up, resting his head on the arm of the couch. However, despite how exhausted they all knew Minho must be, he didn't close his eyes.

Woojin faltered, not entirely sure how he should proceed. If it were one of the littles, Woojin would scoop them up and carry them away for naptime and cuddles. If it were one of the caregivers, Woojin would grab a blanket and tuck it around them and make sure they were comfortable.

But Woojin honestly didn't know which Minho was anymore.

Woojin lifted his gaze to lock eyes with Jeongin who was still in the room. The boy was gnawing his lower lip, worriedly staring at Minho. 

"Innie," Woojin said softly, startling both Minho and Jeongin, "Baby, why don't you go play with the others in Hyunjin's room, yeah?" 

Woojin had quietly instructed Chan to take the others while he was going to try to talk to Minho alone. Woojin and the rest of the members knew how reserved Minho could be. They also weren't strangers to the close relationship between the two.

Chan had wanted to be there, but the two had already discussed that this would be best. Minho wouldn't want to talk if he was overwhelmed.

Once the room was empty, Woojin took a moment to observe Minho.

The poor boy was exhausted. That much had been made clear since the moment he had woken up this morning. Woojin had immediately been concerned when he saw Minho repeatedly pushing his fringe down to cover his face. Practice had revealed Minho's eyes to be just as bloodshot as Woojin had expected. Woojin's concerns had also been raised as he saw how badly Minho was struggling with simple things that day - from eating with his fingers to being unable to tie his shoes. It could just be the exhaustion, but Woojin had a creeping feeling that it might be more than that. 

Reaching over, Woojin brushed Minho's hair away from his face. Minho startled again, confused as to why he and Woojin were alone. He could count on one hand how many times he and Woojin had been completely alone together since their debut. That's just what happens when you live in such close quarters with eight other people.

Minho froze as Woojin's arms gently snaked under his armpits, letting out an embarrassingly whiny sound as he was maneuvered into Woojin's arms. Minho was stiff as Woojin started gently rubbing his hands up and down his back, humming a soft tune. Minho really couldn't help it at that point. Woojin's voice was like honey, gently soothing him into a soft headspace. Minho felt his worries drift away for a while, getting lost in the affection. Any warning bells that Minho shouldn't be giving into acting like this were silenced by Woojin's soothing presence. 

Minho faintly registered Woojin asking him something that sounded like a question, but he couldn't get the words to make sense. Instead, he tightened his grip on Woojin's shirt and prayed the older would understand.

The two sat like that for a while, before Minho's beautiful moment of peace was disturbed.

"Appa! Appa! Appa look what I found!" Minho flinched as Jisung's shrill voice cut into his fuzzy brain. He heard Chan yelling for Jisung to come back, and also something that sounded vaguely like Hyunjin panicking.

Minho's eyes opened, and he blinked away the blurriness as Jisung was  _still_ yelling and being far too loud.

"Look! Appa look!" Minho sat up, despite Woojin attempting to shush him and push him back down. When his eyes cleared, he noticed Chan and Hyunjin standing in the doorway, Jisung right in front of Woojin and himself. Minho was confused as to why Hyunjin (and Chan, but slightly less so) looked so nervous.

It took him several more seconds to register what Jisung was trying to show Woojin.

"Found it in Jinnie's room, Appa!" Jisung beamed, and just as Woojin opened his mouth to congratulate Jisung on finding his blanket, Minho finally reacted.

He burst into tears.

Loud, ugly sobs ripped their way out of Minho's throat as he reached for the blanket. Jisung was too stunned to protest, letting the fabric slide out of his hands as Minho pulled on it. Minho held the blanket close to his chest, cries muffled as he buried his face in the soft fabric. Minho's whole body shook with relief.

Jisung didn't think his eyes could get any wider as he stared at his hyung. Minho  _never_ cried, let alone over something like a  _blanket_! Still in shock, Jisung turned to Chan and Hyunjin, who were both still frozen. Woojin didn't seem to be faring much better. Jisung had never seen all of them look so  _sad._

Minho's cries gradually got softer, and eventually, Jisung drifted back over to Chan, tugging on his hand for comfort. Jisung felt like he should do something, but he didn't know what. Minho was acting so  _odd,_ Jisung had never seen a caregiver cry like that! No, crying over a blanket was something that _Jisung_ would (and has) done. Jisung gasped. Minho was acting like a  _little._

Once he had managed to calm down, Minho finally realized the implications of what he'd just done. There was no going back from this. There's no way the other's didn't know.

Minho sucked it up and pulled away, wiping his face on his sleeve. He looked up, and Chan's eyes were the first that he met. He looked away quickly, face burning in shame. He didn't know what to do now. He was so embarrassed, so many people had just seen him ball his eyes out like a baby over a  _blanket -_

"Hyung, are you a little?" someone asked softly, and Minho jerked at the question. His lower lip wobbled and his eyes went as wide as saucers as he stared back in disbelief at Hyunjin.

"W-what?" Minho's face flushed at how broken and weak his voice sounded. He didn't even know why he was denying it at this point. It was a last-ditch effort by now, but maybe if he denied it just a bit longer, he could still play it off somehow -

"Oh, baby. Why didn't you tell us?" Chan asked, voice barely above a whisper. Minho finally began to succumb to the feelings he'd been trying to repress for so long. One look at Chan was all it took to know that Minho had no way to lie himself out of this anymore. He would have to be brave now.

"What do you need, baby?" Woojin whispered, shifting closer to Minho.

But to Minho, words were barely making sense anymore. He slouched back into Woojin's waiting embrace, still clutching his blanket in a death grip. He sifted through the fabric for the corner he was looking for and began to suck on it. And just like that, Minho was out like a light.

\---

"What do you mean you found this in Minho's room?" Chan asked, eyebrow raised in a questioning tilt. Hyunjin shifted nervously. Guilt had been eating at him all day.

"I found it in Minho hyung's room yesterday. I've been worried about him, and he just seemed so off and down and sad and I  _know_ I shouldn't have gone into his room without asking but I was so  _worried -"_

"Hyunjin," Chan interrupted, trying to get the boy to calm down. "Take a breath, okay? Just tell hyung what happened."

"I went into his room and looked in all the basic places I could think of. But he keeps his room so ridiculously clean, it's honestly no wonder he doesn't want to room with any of us." Hyunjin started. "I noticed a little lump under his bed covers and it was the last possible place I could think of, so I pulled them back and I found this," Hyunjin motioned to the blanket.

"But I don't understand. Wasn't that Jisung's?" Chan asked.

"Yeah. Think about when it went missing, hyung. Jisung had a meltdown over not being able to find it the night we all came home after - after Minho hyung's elimination."

Chan had to sit down with the force of the revelation. Pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to click together. 

"And then I totally forgot to talk to him about it last night because Jeonginnie wasn't feeling well and so I hid it. But when Minho hyung came out of his room this morning he looked  _terrible_ and it was because of me, hyung. I took his blanket. He didn't have anything but the blanket and I took it from him." Hyunjin was rambling again. The guilt had been eating at him all day and he had been dying to get Chan or Woojin alone long enough to bring this to their attention. That way, a better caregiver than himself could handle the situation he had already messed up so badly.

Chan opened his mouth to speak just as Jisung came barreling into the room, a tired looking Changbin following close behind. "Sorry, he's just so hyper. The little monster is incapable of sitting still for three seconds," Changbin laughed, leaning down to tickle Jisung.

Hyunjin attempted to casually shove the blanket under his bed, but it got tangled on the metal bed frame, leaving a little corner of it peeking out. Hyunjin's panicked gaze locked with Chan's own as Jisung let out a loud, excited squeal.

"Blankie!" he yelled, tugging the fabric out from under Hyunjin's bed. And Hyunjin couldn't be mad at him, he really couldn't. 

"Oh, yay! Good job Jisungie, you found your blanket!" Changbin cooed, completely unaware of the situation. "Why don't you go show Innie in the other room, baby?"

Jisung's eyes sparkled, "No! I'm gonna go show Appa!" 

Despite numerous attempts to stop Jisung from running out into the living room, he still made it there anyway. Hyunjin and Chan could do nothing but stare at the situation that was about to unfold helplessly.

Woojin had Minho pulled into his lap, and for the first time all day, Minho appeared to be relaxed and content. 

That is, until Jisung entered the room. Hyunjin watched, heart in his throat, as Minho's eyes fluttered open. He watched as the realization dawned across Minho's tired features. 

He expected Minho to deny it. To turn and hide back away into Woojin's chest. A smaller part of Hyunjin expected Minho to be angry - to storm out of the room, maybe even lash out at Jisung. All of the books he had read about little's repressing their headspaces had told him that those were the two most common reactions. 

It was fairly safe to assume that no one in the room expected Minho to burst into tears.

Hyunjin's heart shattered. He could  _hear_ the pain in Minho's sobs. 

Those weren't the crocodile tears he was so used to from Jisung and Felix. They were tears of longing, and desperation, and sadness.

 ---

Minho knew something was off when he woke up the next morning in a room that was not his own.

He realized something was even more off when he looked down to see that he was dressed in comfortable clothing which was also not his own.

The only thing that made sense in this situation was that he had slept with his blanket - but no, that didn't even make sense because last Minho could remember, his blanket was still missing and that's why he had felt so horrible yesterday.

Oh.

Oh no.

It all came flooding back to Minho at once. Jisung finding his blanket, running out to Woojin to show him and Minho bursting into tears and taking it away from him again.

A part of him realized how mean that was. The blanket did, after all, actually belong to Jisung. But Jisung had tons of other blankets, and toys, and stuffed animals and other things to play with so why couldn't Minho keep his blanket?

Minho didn't want to leave his bed. He didn't know what time or day it even was anymore. But he did know one thing - the rest of the group surely knew by now. The rest of his members knew he was a little.

Minho didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he was so, so incredibly relieved he couldn't even put it into words. On the other, he was terrified.

What if they hated him now? What if they didn't want anything to do with him anymore? What if they didn't want another little - surely they were already satisfied with Seungmin, Felix, Jisung, and Jeongin, right?

There wasn't room for Minho. 

He sniffled, rubbing his eyes in frustration. He sat up, bracing himself for the worst. He couldn't remember much of last night, but he figured Woojin had put him to bed after he'd fallen asleep on him. Minho's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He had woken up in an empty and silent room - just as good confirmation as any that the caregivers didn't want him.

Minho figured it was best to just face them and get the rejection over with. At least now that they knew, maybe Minho could be little by himself in his own room every once in a while on free days? Minho didn't want to settle for that but was attempting to see at least some good in the situation.

He took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door, blanket in his hands. He knew what he had to do. 

Minho tried not to focus too much on the whispers he started to be able to make out more clearly as he approached the living room. 

"-do we do? You can't tell me there wasn't a reason for him not telling us. Maybe he just isn't comfortable with us?" a voice Minho immediately recognized as Felix's.

"There's no use in speculating, the only way to know for sure is to talk to Minho." Woojin.

"But he  _doesn't_ talk, hyung! He'll find some way to dodge us like he always does." Changbin. Minho knew the younger well enough to know that his words weren't malicious; rather they were coming from a place of hurt.

"Binnie..." a soft voice - Seungmin interjected. Minho could practically see the way the boy would be gnawing at his lower lip, pulling on his sleeves anxiously. He always did that when he was stressed. "Don't be mean. Minho hyung loves us, right? Maybe he was just scared? And he's a hyung so maybe that made him uncomfortable?"

Minho flinched. Seungmin was hitting the nail right on the head. Being scared, being a hyung, and his awkward start with the group were his main reasons for never coming clean.

Changbin scoffed. "You can't tell me that Minho hyung didn't want to be little around us because he's older. And shit, what would have happened if he dropped while taking care of the kids alone?" Minho flinched, but he understood. Changbin definitely did have a point.

Minho decided he shouldn't eavesdrop anymore, instead inching closer to the living room. "What he did was irresponsible -"

Minho cleared his throat, cutting off whatever Changbin was about to say. "I know it was." 

Minho clutched his blanket closer to his chest as he felt eight pairs of eyes shoot over to him. "I, I'm s-sorry."

He had meant to say more, he truly had. But he felt so small under the stares of his members - some of them angry, some hurt, some confused.

"Baby, what are you doing awake so soon?" Minho felt rather than saw Woojin inching closer to him, as though he was approaching a wounded animal.

"Please don't call me that," Minho said, voice barely loud enough to hear. Doing what he needed to do would be much easier if Woojin wasn't calling him names that made him feel so small.

"Start talking, hyung." Changbin huffed, and Minho heard him cross his arms over his chest. 

He felt his walls start to build themselves back up as Chan elbowed Changbin, scolding him lightly. Woojin whispered to Minho to take his time.

"So you're a little, hyung?" Felix asked. And like a reflex, Minho immediately went to deny it.

"No I'm-" Minho stammered, slightly alarmed by how immediate the instinct to deny it had become. "I, y-yeah." 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Felix asked again. Minho still hadn't looked any of them in the eye.

"I, it's..." Minho trailed off, trying to find the words, "...complicated."

Changbin scoffed, stepping closer to Minho. Minho stepped back. "You've gotta do better than that. There was no reason for you to hide that from us. We left you alone with the little's way too many times for me to ever be okay with this. If you would have slipped, you could have gotten them hurt, hyung. What would you have done then?" 

Minho stepped back, eyes brimming with tears, clutching his blanket tighter as though it would be a barrier against Changbin's words.

"I guess we should have suspected, given how terrible the little's always said you were at taking care of them." 

Two things happened at once. Changbin's mouth had snapped shut, realizing he had gone too far. And Minho pinpointed the end of Changbin's sentence as the moment he stopped feeling vulnerable and started feeling angry.

"The fuck would you know about it?" Minho glared, finally looking Changbin in the eyes. "Do you have any idea how difficult watching them was for me? I had to fight against my own brain  _constantly_ to make sure that they stayed safe. Even though I was  _horrible_ with them, they were always my first priority. I love them way too much to  _ever_ let anything hurt them under my watch. So don't you fucking  _dare_ try to tell me..." Minho trailed off, blinking away angry tears.

"Minho, we can't imagine how hard that must have been for you. We're so proud of-" Chan started.

"Don't you  _dare_ say you're proud of me, Chan. All I've done this entire time is lie to all of you."

"Why, then? Why did you lie to us about it? Why would you tell us you're a caregiver? You could have easily introduced yourself as a little when we all first met." Changbin said.

" _I_ didn't introduce myself as a caregiver," Minho spat back, his increasing annoyance at Changbin causing him to lose his filter, " _They_ did," Minho gestured at Woojin and Chan.

Minho regretted his words the second he said them. He watched as Chan's face morphed from confusion, to realization, to hurt in a matter of seconds.

"That's bullshit. There's no way they didn't  _ask_ you, hyung. They made a point to ask all of us." Changbin snapped back. It only made Minho feel worse.

"Well, maybe they did with you." Minho stammered, wind leaving his sails. 

Minho had wanted to correct Chan and Woojin from the first moment he was introduced incorrectly. But then, as more and more members were added (all of them younger than Minho - the littles making up the majority of the maknae line) Minho had concluded that he must be better off acting as a hyung. Woojin and Chan could tell right off the bat that the younger ones were little - but with Minho, they messed up. They had made an honest, innocent mistake that had been hurting Minho every day since. 

"Okay," Felix snapped, causing Minho to flinch. It took a lot to get Felix upset. "Changbin, you're not helping. Hyung," Felix said, crossing the room to place a comforting grip on Minho's arm. "You are the strongest person I know. You've dealt with so much  _crap_ from us, especially us littles. I don't know why Chan and Woojin hyungs would have assumed like that, but you always could have corrected them. No one deserves to have to repress themselves like that for so long."

"I know I could have," Minho sniffled, attempting to keep his emotions in check. He had never liked being the center of attention and now was definitely no exception. "But it, I'm, I'm a hyung. And I'm not as cute and small and young as the other littles. I'm sassy and grumpy and not very fun to be around most times. And I figured, you know, if Chan and Woojin hyungs thought I was a caregiver, maybe there was something there? I kept second guessing it and wondering if I really even  _was_ a little, but I definitely am, and by the time I figured that out it was too late." Minho rambled, pushing through even when Seungmin made a strangled sound from the other side of the room.

"And I didn't mind it - not at first. I loved taking care of you guys," Minho gestured to the littles, "but I was so bad at it. Which makes sense, but I thought I should be good at it, especially since you all thought I was a caregiver. I had no clue what to do literally all of the time. But I knew I had to keep you all safe and happy, even at the expense of myself." Minho continued.

Minho's eyes went downcast as silence fell over the room. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he had to do next. 

"This doesn't have to change anything. I'll just fall into my headspace by myself in my room if I need to. I know you have your hands full with the other littles, so I don't mind. I'm sorry for worrying everyone and for lying for so long. I h-hope you can forgive me." 

Minho looked down at the blanket he was still holding in his arms and steeled himself for the last thing he needed to do. Biting his lip, Minho scanned the room until his eyes landed on Jisung. Jisung's eyes went wide with alarm as he saw what Minho was aiming to do.

"Jisung," Minho started, walking over to him, "This is yours. I'm sorry for taking it." Before anyone could stop him, Minho thrust the blanket into Jisung's arms before the boy could protest. Jisung went to hastily give it back to Minho - he didn't need it, he had plenty of other blankets, and Minho's breakdown about the blanket a few hours ago surely meant that he needed it more than Jisung did - but Minho was already making his way out of the room.

Minho swallowed the lump in his throat as he handed over the one item that brought him comfort back to its rightful owner. He blinked back tears as he turned the corner out of the living room, not bothering to keep his emotions concealed anymore once his bedroom door clicked shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhh please don't be too mad - I promise it gets better!!! I also did not intend to make Changbin a villain here - he is coming from a place of hurt and concern but he's not showing it in the best of ways! The last chapter of this will be up in a couple of days and will explore the aftermath of Minho revealing himself in this chapter. Stay tuned, and thank you for the lovely comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm back! I'm so sorry for the delay :(. I hope to post the epilogue (the final chapter of this section of this series) within a week or two!
> 
> As it has been so long since I last updated - please re-read the last chapter! It'll help this one run more smoothly :)

Minho didn't bother to keep his sobs quiet as he burrowed himself under his bed covers. He was so  _embarrassed_ and  _hurt_ and  _sad_ by the way his members had reacted. Chan and Woojin had just let Changbin yell at him, making him feel like a complete  _monster_  in front of the younger members.

Minho had never meant to hurt anyone. He had sucked it up for so long, repressed himself for  _so long_ to keep the other littles safe. But Changbin refused to see that.

Minho couldn't really blame him. Of course he wouldn't believe that Chan and Woojin hadn't asked him if he was a caregiver or little - even though it was the hurtful truth. Even though Minho knew that Chan and Woojin had never meant to hurt him, that didn't alleviate the painful throbbing in his heart. 

 _God,_ the looks on their faces when Minho had lost his filter while yelling back at Changbin. Minho curled into himself and cried harder as Chan and Woojin's hurt expressions refused to stop searing into the back of his eyelids when he closed them.

Chan and Woojin continued to plague Minho's mind as he cried. He wanted them to come into his room and comfort him more than he could put into words. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn't stop. The way Woojin had held Minho only a few hours prior when they had come home from practice refused to let Minho slam the door on how little he was feeling. He wanted that back. But of course Woojin wouldn't want to comfort him anymore now that he knew the truth - now that he knew how much of a liar Minho was.

Minho wasn't sure if minutes, hours, or days had passed by the time he had finally calmed himself down. He wiped his eyes, pushing back the bed covers only to cringe at the cold air. He felt empty.

He scootched up into an upright position, eventually just sagging against the wall in exhaustion and defeat. 

Minho didn't know how to make things better. He didn't know how to fix what he had messed up. He didn't know how to apologize to his members in the way that they deserved.

Part of him wanted to brush it off and be angry - to channel his sass and cockiness and blow off the concern of the other members. But as much as he wanted things to go back to normal, he knew he couldn't act that way. Not anymore.

A knock on Minho's door startled him so much that he jumped. He recognized Seungmin's soft voice telling him that dinner was ready.

Minho shifted. Dinner with the group felt like the most impossible endeavor he had ever faced after the confrontation a few hours previous. They knew Minho was a little now. What if they cornered him when he left the safety of his room? What if they forced him to be little? Even worse, what if they told him that they didn't want anything to do with him anymore? 

Changbin's angry features flashed across Minho's mind as he crossed his room to get to the door. Something as simple as turning the doorknob to leave the safety of his blanket cocoon felt as exhausting and scary as climbing a mountain.

Minho nearly had to turn around and bolt back to safety as he reached the living room. The rest of the members were already there. All of them looked exhausted, and Changbin somehow looked worse for wear than  _Minho_ did. Hyunjin was another story - his eyes were red as though he'd been crying. Seungmin was gnawing at his sleeves (which he only does when he's upset) and Minho watched as Chan reached over to take the sweater out of his mouth. 

One glance around the room was all it took to reveal that the rest of the members were in a similar condition.

Minho felt  _horrible._ This was all his fault.

Minho bit back tears as he slowly walked over to the table, taking the empty seat between Jeongin and Chan. Once again, Minho felt eight pairs of eyes shoot over to him. He flinched, shrinking under the unwanted attention for the millionth time that day. 

The group ate in silence, which had Minho incredibly on edge. Mealtimes with Stray Kids were  _never_ quiet. 

Minho was about two seconds away from bolting out of the room like a terrified dog - tail tucked between his legs and everything - before someone else beat him to it and broke the deafening silence. 

It was only a few sniffles, but Minho could immediately pinpoint the culprit. He'd spent weeks comforting that very same person - rocking him to sleep, shushing those same little cries during the time they were eliminated together. 

Minho immediately moved to comfort Felix because caregiver or not, Minho still cared about his members deeply, especially Felix. Changbin, however, had other plans. The second Minho began to lift himself out of his seat, the younger caregiver was shoving him out of the way to get to Felix. Minho was stunned. No one had ever done that to him before.

Minho watched numbly as Changbin scooped Felix up into his arms, carting the other out of the room as his cries began to pick up. Felix must have dropped due to the stress; it really didn't take a genius to figure that out. 

Minho plopped back down into his seat, staring down at his full plate of food that he still hadn't touched, trying to blink away tears and embarrassment. Is this how they were going to treat him now? 

He knew he had said that they could all pretend nothing had ever happened, but Minho would be lying if he said that it didn't hurt that they were all flat out  _ignoring_ him. Angrily, Minho pushed his chair back and excused himself from the table. He slammed his bedroom door shut behind him.

He never should have gone out there in the first place.

\---

The next day was chaotic, and Minho really should have seen it coming. 

Minho had had yet another night of no sleep because he was incapable of sleeping without his-Jisung's stupid blanket. He had never hated his biology more than when he saw his sleep-deprived, exhausted face staring back at him in the bathroom mirror the next morning.

Changbin still refused to even look at him. Minho was okay with this, as he didn't really want to look at the other either. Everyone else appeared to be walking on eggshells around him. Minho felt his annoyance beginning to rise from the moment he woke up.

Dance practice was a nightmare. Minho was able to shove his emotions aside long enough to actually teach the others the new choreography that he had been meant to do yesterday. It wasn't without bumps though - Changbin was sure to huff at him any time he stumbled, Hyunjin was hesitant to get near him, and the littles all looked seconds away from a meltdown.

Minho was really struggling to keep it together.

The final straw was drawn when they reached the trickiest part of the new choreography. Minho had known that it was going to be an issue the moment the instructor taught it to him. Minho had to get close to all of them - which normally would never have been an issue. He would boop Jeongin on the nose while he guided his arms to the correct positions, give Hyunjin a back-hug while he showed the same to him. It was never awkward before. 

But now? Minho could cut the tension with a knife. He showed the younger ones first, tried to ignore Seungmin's borderline tearful gaze as he walked him through the steps. Felix, Jisung, and Jeongin gave him the same look. He ignored it the best he could. 

Hyunjin was the first to blatantly make it weird. Minho stepped towards him, and Hyunjin immediately, as if running on reflex, flinched back. Minho's eyes widened, question on his lips before Hyunjin awkwardly laughed it off, stepping closer to Minho.

What the hell was happening to their group?

Only Changbin, Woojin, and Chan were left to teach. The three that Minho was dreading the most. He took a deep breath, pulling himself together before hesitantly meeting Changbin's gaze.

Changbin's eyes were cold, menacing almost. A look Minho had never seen on the younger before - and a look that had certainly never been directed at  _him_.

"I think we've got it, actually." Changbin snapped, and Minho lost whatever bit of courage he had possessed. Dancing was the  _one_ thing Minho was good at, and now they weren't going to let him teach?

"Changbin," Woojin warned. It took Minho longer than it should have to realize Woojin was the one that was speaking. His voice was  _never_ that cold. Minho felt shame creeping up his spine. This was his fault, his fault,  _his fault._

Behind him, Minho heard Jisung whimper. Everyone was on edge. Minho gave the littles a lot of credit for not bursting into tears. Lord knows Minho sure wanted to.

"Let him teach you. We're not as cohesive when we try to do things by ourselves," Woojin finished. Minho flinched at the double meaning of his words.

Changbin huffed but otherwise didn't protest. Minho figured that was his cue to approach Changbin.

Minho didn't want to. He  _really_ didn't want to. It was like that scene in a horror movie, where the entire audience (and anyone with half a brain cell) knew something bad was about to happen. 

Minho stepped behind Changbin, beginning to lead him through the motions. When the drop point came, Changbin didn't hesitate to go full force. Which was exactly why Minho wasn't quick enough in pulling back to give the younger space. 

Changbin's elbow collided with Minho's gut, causing him to double over in pain. It felt like the air had been ripped out of him.

"Hyung what the  _hell_ why didn't you move?" Changbin spluttered, reaching down to help Minho up off the floor. Minho jerked away, effectively sending both himself to the floor and causing Changbin's anger to rise.

"What, now you don't want me to touch you?" Changbin snapped at Minho, who was finally back on his feet. 

"And I wonder why?" Minho snapped back, still trying to catch his breath.

"Fucking hell, it's not like I would ever  _hurt_ you!"

"Oh, so words don't count?" Minho quipped, his hurt, frustration, and exhaustion rearing their ugly heads in the form of total anger. 

"They don't count when you actually _are_ being a lying asshole!" 

"Takes an asshole to know an asshole!" 

Changbin froze at the childish insult, before lashing out in the only way he could think of. He charged forward, brought up both hands and shoved Minho so hard that he hit the floor with a sickening  _thump._

Minho hit the floor so hard that his head spun. He knew it wasn't that bad, he wasn't actually hurt anywhere. But anyone in the room could see the moment Minho dropped, face contorting into a look of desperation as his eyes searched the room for Chan and Woojin. But the second that their eyes locked, Minho snapped out of it. They didn't want him. His entire group didn't want him anymore. They were all just watching Changbin humiliate him, they were probably silently cheering Changbin on for all Minho knew. Maybe they were all in on it? Maybe this is what they all wanted? 

Minho's breathing picked up and he lost focus on his surroundings. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The only thought in his mind besides deafening static was that he had done this. This was all his fault.

He faintly heard voices yelling, people running around. He didn't know what was going on anymore, and he didn't really care.

It wasn't until someone touched him that he felt the bile rising up his throat. They were going to hurt him.

Minho shoved against the hands reaching out to him blindly, trying to get away. He stumbled to his feet, attempting to make a mad dash for the door. He had to get away. He couldn't cause any more damage.

A set of strong arms locked themselves around his torso and Minho screamed. Nothing was making sense, his head was blurry and he just wanted  _out._ Despite his thrashing, the arms refused to let him go. He heard the person saying something but he couldn't hear a thing over the static, over the panic. He was messing up, he was making everyone upset, this was all his  _fault_ -

"-Inho, Minho, shh, it's okay, it's okay," he heard a voice say, silencing the static somewhat. Minho continued to struggle in the hold as he was turned around to face the persons chest, being held close. 

Minho struggled more, pushing against the hold, sobbing as he continued to try to escape. "No! Let me go! You don't love me, let me go!" 

Despite his protests, the arms continued to hold him tight, and Minho slowly felt himself tiring out. Shoves against the chest became weak pushes, yells turned into scared whimpers until Minho finally gave up, sagging into the hold.

His eyes fluttered shut as darkness took over.

\---

"What the  _fuck_ Changbin?!" Chan seethed. He had just finished putting a passed out Minho to bed a few moments prior, heading back into the living room immediately afterward. 

Chan eyed the rest of his group, noticing how upset everyone was. "This should never have gotten this far out of hand," Chan muttered in defeat, sagging against the sofa.

"We should have talked to him right after he told us yesterday. Of course he'd be upset and on edge. No one was talking to him and we let him think," Hyunjin broke off, blinking away tears, "we let him think that no one loved him anymore."

"I doubt he actually meant that," Changbin started, looking down, guilt etched into his sharp features, "Little's say stuff they don't mean all the time when they're hurt."

"Hey!" Jisung snapped, "even if I were little I would never say you guys didn't love me if I didn't believe it was true. And no wonder he believes it! No one  _did_ anything, except Changbin who just yelled at him and  _pushed_ him!" 

"W-why is everyone mad at Minho hyung? Is it b-bad that he's a little?" Seungmin asked quietly.

Chan froze at that. He had honestly, truly thought that giving Minho a bit of space after the stressful events of the night before would be what he wanted. Minho had  _always_ been that way! When he was eliminated, he had spent the time by himself, and when he had come back to the group when they debuted as nine he had closed himself off like he usually did-

Oh.

Chan tugged on his hair as it all began to make sense. Of course Minho had closed himself off. Letting someone close when he was that vulnerable and sad would have definitely led to the group finding out that he was a little. Chan and Woojin had taken away his choice in that matter - they had made Minho feel as though he had to pretend to be a caregiver to be accepted by the group. It was the last thing in the  _world_ that Chan and Woojin had intended to do, but it had happened nonetheless. 

And Chan hated himself for it.

Chan turned his attention towards Minho's bedroom door, Woojin attempting to explain the situation to Seungmin and reassure him that everything would be okay was faint background noise as Chan made his way down the hall.

Chan debated knocking before deciding against it. He opened the door, and his heart broke a little bit more at what he saw.

Minho was curled up under his blankets, back against the wall, body completely covered. The top of his hair was the only thing that was sticking out. His entire body was shaking, and Chan heard the telltale sign of someone muffling their cries with their fist.

"Minho?" Chan asked softly, not knowing if pet names were still off the table. Minho stiffened, head ducking lower under the blankets and body curling into a tighter ball.

"Oh, sweetheart," Chan muttered, slowly moving closer to sit on the bed; careful to leave a space between him and the lump under the blankets that was Minho. "Can you talk to Hyung?" 

"G-go 'way," Minho's response came from under the blankets. Chan couldn't tell if his speech was slurred because the boy was crying, or if it was because...

Chan reached forward and gently pried the blankets back. Minho held tighter at first, but Chan didn't relent. Eventually, red eyes and ruffled hair became visible. "Baby, are you little?" 

Minho stilled, trying harder to dive back under the blankets even though Chan continued to not let him. "N-no 'm not!" 

Chan reached out a hand to try to comfort Minho, the boy still attempting to throw the blankets back over his head to hide. At the contact, Minho stilled. He stared down at Chan's hand as though it was a foreign object and looked as though he was about to burst into tears. 

"Sweetheart, let me help. Let Appa help. Please, baby," Chan all but begged. "We, we gave you space because it's what we thought you wanted. We never meant to make you feel like we don't love you - that couldn't be farther from the truth! I thought that if you and Changbin were able to talk this out, that it might help you both. That's why Woojin and I didn't interfere. It wasn't because we don't love you, baby. We all love you so much," Chan finished - hoping, praying,  _pleading_ to the universe that it would be enough to help Minho begin to understand their reasoning.

Minho sagged against the mattress, fight leaving his body. Chan still wasn't sure whether or not he was entirely little.

"You all just let Changbin yell at me and say those things," Minho began, Chan immediately deducing that he wasn't little. "I thought you weren't saying anything because you all agreed with him," Minho finished, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Honey, no," Chan and Minho both startled at the new voice. Woojin was stood in the doorway, and entered the room with his hands raised in apology and a sheepish look on his face from being caught eavesdropping. Minho shifted as though he was uncomfortable again. Chan frowned - that was interesting.

"We thought that Changbin would learn from this. We talked it out last night and he realized that he needed to apologize to you for the horrible things he said last night. However, it seems as though emotions got the best of him in the heat of the moment today at practice. Chan and I definitely should have stepped in, looking back, and we're very sorry about that, baby,"

Logically, Woojin's explanation made sense to Minho. He knew that the caregivers, especially the older ones, always gave the younger ones opportunities to grow and learn from their mistakes. The littles got their own situations to learn from, too. But selfishly, Minho wished that Chan and Woojin would have picked another way to help Changbin grow as a caregiver. One that didn't have to hurt him so badly.

Minho had no idea how to voice that, so he just curled up tighter and sniffled.

"Minho, baby, how can we help?" Chan asked, and Minho felt a little bad at how desperate Chan sounded.

"I'm okay," Minho muttered, and Chan wasn't quick enough to stop him this time as he finally succeeded in diving back under the blankets.

"Please come out so that we can talk this out, Minho," Chan asked, attempting for the millionth time to pry away the blankets.

"I can talk from under here," Minho quipped, and despite everything, Chan felt the corners of his mouth twitch up into a smile.

"Come on, baby. We're not going away." Woojin attempted to soothe, crossing the room to join Chan on the bed.

"You can't make me," Minho mumbled, tone bordering on whiny. Chan and Woojin shared a look. Chan quirked an eyebrow as if saying  _should we prove him wrong?_ while Woojin covered a laugh, shaking his head.

Silence fell over the room again and no one appeared to be sure how to break it. Except for Woojin, of course.

"Minho, Chan and I can't apologize enough for what we've put you through. We want to try to explain ourselves if you'll let us?" Woojin asked softly, and watched in awe as Minho sat up and leaned his back against the wall - effectively leaving his blanket cocoon. He still didn't look up to make eye contact with either caregiver, but this was still progress.

"It's not your fault," Minho mumbled, "I never corrected you."

"Even so," Woojin started, "Chan and I never should have assumed like that. I can't speak for Chan, but when I first met you, you were a force to be reckoned with. You still are; but back then, when I didn't know you the way I do now, you were so fierce. Watching you dance was like watching the performance of a professional idol. Watching the way you interacted with people, how  _strong_ you are, how you never took criticism from dance instructors well," Minho let out a quiet laugh, "I guess it never really crossed my mind that you were a little. You were so independent and fierce, all on your own, and as I was so young, and frankly, so uneducated about littles, those weren't characteristics I associated with them yet. Obviously, when Seungmin, Felix, Jeongin, and Jisung joined us, I learned how wrong I was. But by then, the damage had already been done." Woojin trailed off.

"I was the same," Chan stated, "I met you and was like, 'wow, holy shit, this guy is intense and sassy and an  _incredibly_ talented dancer, I need him in this group', but I never really stopped to think about you possibly being a little? And that was so awfully closed-minded of me, and I can never make that up to you. Woojin and I, and so many others in this group have so much that we still need to learn. But I'm so sorry that you had to suffer because Woojin and I didn't bother to _ask_ if you were a caregiver or a little."

Minho looked like he didn't know what to do with this information. Woojin reached over and put a hand on his knee.

"I guess I thought that because you two thought I was a caregiver, that there might be something to it? Because you two are so  _good_ at it and when we first met, I really looked up to you guys. I still do. So I tried to do my best and act like a caregiver. It was fun sometimes, and I really loved taking care of the littles, but there were times that I just..." Minho trailed off, "By the time not dropping started catching up to me, I had already been lying by omission for so long that I was scared to tell the truth. I didn't want the others to be mad at me, like Changbin is," Minho took a breath, settling himself. "And I didn't want you to be disappointed in me." 

"Oh, sweetheart," Chan uttered, and anyone could tell that he was getting emotional but trying to hide it. "Woojin and I could never be disappointed in you. You did so  _well_ , baby. This isn't your fault. We all could have done better."

"Do the others hate me?" Minho whispered after a few quiet moments.

"No, of course not! The little's are nothing but worried about you, and Hyunjin is a mess. Changbin-" Minho flinched at the mention of the boy's name. "I think Changbin is more upset than any of us."

"Yeah," Minho said bitterly, "He made that pretty clear." 

"No, I mean, I think Changbin is upset that he didn't notice anything, and wasn't there to help you. Binnie has never been the best with handling his emotions, especially bad ones. I think when you told us that you're a little, he was scared. Scared because he wasn't there to help you and didn't know that anything was wrong." Chan stated.

"But obviously," Woojin intervened, "Changbin needs to do a lot of reflecting on what he did wrong today and talk to you about his actions and why he handled things the way that he did on his own. We can't speculate for him, but I do know that Changbin cares about you, Minho."

Staring at Minho as their long conversation finally came to a halt, Chan wondered how they had never noticed it before. Minho was so  _soft_ , so  _fragile_. But he was also so fierce and strong. 

"I know we have no right to ask this, but will you let us take care of you?" Chan asked. He heard Woojin take a sharp breath - a nervous habit of his.

Minho looked stunned, and curled up tighter into himself, "I-it's okay, you don't have to. I'm okay by myself."

"We know you're okay by yourself, you're so strong. But we want to help you. Chan and I  _want_ to take care of you."

"B-but," Minho looked like he was running out of reasons to argue, and Chan and Woojin could both tell that the boy was feeling small again, "There's already so many to take care of."

"Baby, there's always room for one more. We want to take care of you if you'll let us."

Minho gnawed on his lip, nervously pulling at a loose thread on his bedding. Woojin reached over to stop him from ruining his comforter, but Minho pulled away before the older could touch him. Finally, Chan's curiosity got the best of him.

"Why are you so nervous with Woojin, hmm?" Chan asked softly, even though he was almost certain he knew the answer. Woojin quirked a confused eyebrow at the question.

Minho gnawed on his lip harder, and Chan was scared he was going to draw blood. "Be-because hyung makes me feel small."

Woojin's heart was swelling so much he feared it would burst. "That's how I'm supposed to make you feel, sweetheart."

Minho shrugged nervously and shifted his position to pull his feet out from underneath him. Woojin had to physically stop Chan from pulling Minho close and smothering him in kisses and cuddles. They couldn't do anything without Minho's consent first.

"O-okay," Minho stammered after a while. 

"Are you sure?" Woojin asked softly. 

Minho felt nervous, as though if he didn't say yes they would leave. Minho didn't want them to leave. He  _wanted_ them to take care of him. He wanted it so much he could taste it, could feel the need to drop pumping through his veins alongside his blood. He knew that if he did, his hyungs would make it better. They would take care of everything - they would take care of him.

"Just you," Minho said with his last ounce of being big. Chan and Woojin understood. They had no intention of making Minho interact with everyone his first time being little with them anyways.

"Of course, whatever you want, angel." Chan agreed.

Woojin and Chan both felt the moment the energy in the room shifted. Minho's watery eyes locked with Woojin's and he extended his arms, looking the most vulnerable the two caregivers had ever seen him.

"P-please," Minho begged, and Woojin didn't hesitate to finally scoop the little into his arms. Minho sobbed against his chest, fingers curled tightly in his shirt. Chan rubbed the boy's back, whispering soothing words. 

The three sat together like that on the bed for what felt like hours. Once Minho had calmed down from his crying, Chan had asked if he wanted to play. Minho had shook his head, seeming content to continue playing with the hem of Woojin's shirt as they cuddled. 

Minho's stomach growling was the first thing to break the silence. Minho blushed, and Woojin watched fondly as Minho stared down at his own body as if it had betrayed him. Minho looked at Woojin with his mouth slightly agape.

"Is our little cuddle monster hungry?" Chan laughed, tickling Minho's sides gently. Minho giggled, squirming away from Chan.

Chan went to get up, mumbling something about cooking up some dinosaur chicken nuggets, but Minho apparently wasn't having it. He twisted in Woojin's hold and whined, extending his arms out to Chan, as if trying to prevent him from leaving. Chan's lower lip wobbled, and Woojin rolled his eyes fondly.

However, when Minho was safely settled into Chan's arms instead of Woojin's, the little became upset once again as Woojin attempted to leave this time. Minho repeated his earlier actions - extended his arms out to Woojin and whined, eyes tearing up this time. 

"Sweetheart," Woojin chuckled, "One of us has to leave to get our little monster some food!" 

Minho was not having it. He started crying again, "No go!" 

"Well," Chan swooped in for damage control, "do you want to come with us?" 

Minho paused for a moment, furrowing his brows together. "I go," Minho nodded, as though it was settled. Chan couldn't suppress his coo this time.

"Do you want to be carried?" Chan asked, and Minho nodded, stretching his arms out to Woojin and making grabby hands.

The three prepared to leave the bedroom, and Minho was careful to keep Chan in his gaze - should he try to escape. Chan chuckled fondly.

Chan stepped ahead of Woojin, who was still carrying Minho to try to usher anyone who might be lingering in the kitchen out of the way so Minho wouldn't get overwhelmed. 

Minho was startled out of his comfortable position by a loud squeal. "Hyungie lit'l?" Jisung asked through mouthfulls of food. It appeared as though Hyunjin had the same idea as Woojin and Chan - that it was dinner time and a hungry little makes for a cranky little.

Minho startled. How could he have been so stupid as to forget that they lived with other  _people?_ People that were  _mad_ at him right now and people like Changbin that had  _hurt_ him earlier. Minho struggled in Woojin's hold, but Woojin was an expert at keeping littles safe when they're being held. Realizing he wasn't getting down anytime soon, Minho buried his head in Woojin's neck in a childish attempt to hide.

"Jisungie, honey, why don't you go play with Seungmin and Hyunjin in the living room?" Chan asked, gently pulling Jisung up from the table.

"But Appa and Daddy always say eat food at table!" Jisung said. Woojin cracked a smile at how good their boys were.

"Very good, baby. But it's a special exception today, okay? Now, go on." Chan nudged. Jisung argued for a few more moments about wanting to stay and play with "the baby" as Jisung was apparently calling Minho now. But eventually, Jisung's desire to run to Seungmin and brag about being allowed to eat in the living room won over.

Chan and Woojin fell into a rhythm, as they often did while cooking together. Minho nearly fell asleep, soothed by the rocking motions of Woojin heating up the food while he held him.

Eventually, another voice was added to the mix and Minho was too relaxed to care. Hushed whispers were used to communicate between caregivers as Chan brought Hyunjin up to speed on what was going on. Minho felt a hand card softly through his hair. He looked up, and upon meeting the warm gaze of Hyunjin's chocolate brown orbs, Minho blushed, burying his head again. 

"He's so  _precious_ ," Hyunjin gushed, causing Minho to blush and squirm.

Minho's stomach rumbling interrupted the moment once again, and this time Minho whined, twisting around in Woojin's arms to see if the food was ready yet.

Before Minho could voice his frustration, he was being sat down at the table on Chan's lap. He had initially wanted to protest this - he could sit on his own and feed himself, thank you very much - but Chan's warm smile and willingness to feed him had him hesitating. So instead, Minho allowed himself to be vulnerable. He let Chan deliver bite-sized pieces of chicken nuggets to him, not even annoyed by how Chan insisted on blowing on each piece of food to make sure it wouldn't burn Minho's tongue.

For the first time in a long time, Minho felt safe and loved.

\---

Shortly after dinner, Minho fell asleep on Chan's lap. Chan had beamed at this, locking eyes with Woojin. The two had tucked Minho safely into bed (in their shared bedroom, instead of Minho's lonely room - they never wanted Minho to wake up lonely ever again). 

Woojin and Chan headed out to meet up with the others. They figured it was only fair, as they had instructed Hyunjin to keep everyone away from the kitchen so as to not overwhelm Minho while he was eating. 

Quite the sight greeted them - Hyunjin and Felix were on the floor, playing some sort of game with cars. Jisung and Jeongin were in the midst of creating a battle scene with Disney stuffed animals (Nemo and Stitch, of all the possible combinations) and Seungmin was on the couch with Changbin. Changbin appeared to be trying to comfort the boy, who was once again gnawing on his sweater sleeves. Chan didn't have the heart to scold him for it this time around.

When the two were finally noticed by the others, all hell broke loose. All of the littles immediately stopped playing, and everyone began shooting questions at the two eldest caregivers. Woojin shushed all of them, waiting until the room was silent to speak. Chan really commended Woojin's patience sometimes.

"Guys, guys. Minho's okay." Woojin was quick to reassure. "We just didn't want to overwhelm him. He's very fragile right now." 

"Is the baby gon' play with us?" Jisung asked, nearly crashing into Chan's legs with how fast he bounded over to him. 

"No, sweetpea. Minho is sleeping right now, he had a very long day." 

Jisung let out an adorable 'awwwww' as he plopped down, pouting as he begrudgingly went back to playing with his toy cars. 

"We have a lot of work to do, guys," Chan began, making sure he had everyone's attention. "We have a lot to make up for with Minho. He's very scared right now. His main concern is whether or not we all still love him, and we need to work on reassuring him that we aren't mad at him."

Felix, who was aptly paying attention to Chan's spiel from his position on the floor, nodded fiercely. "Okay. I go tell him." 

"Woah, woah, woah, buckaroo," Woojin laughed, sweeping up the little that had tried to march right past him to get to Minho. "We have plenty of time to tell him in the morning, okay? Minho needs to sleep right now." Woojin checked his watch, gasping at the time, "speaking of, it's bedtime!" 

With a bit (okay, a lot) of hassle and protest from several excited littles who just wanted to play with their newest addition, eventually everyone was settled into bed. 

About an hour later, all that remained in the living room were Woojin, Chan, Hyunjin, and Changbin. Changbin still refused to make eye contact with anyone, and Hyunjin still looked guilty as well.

"Alright, you two. Starting tomorrow, we are treating Minho the same way we would treat any of the other littles. We are going to listen to him and be there for him. Our job now is to reassure him that he has a place right here with us. That's the most important thing right now."

All four caregivers in the room nodded. It was going to be a long process - getting Minho to trust them again. But surely, it would all be worth it in the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being so patient with me. I had a lot of unexpected things come up these past few weeks - but the final chapter of this section of the story will likely be posted before the end of this month! It will be full of fluff, and all of the unresolved conflict will get taken care of. I also plan on writing several spinoffs of this story focusing on each of the other littles - so stay tuned for that as well! 
> 
> Thanks for the amazing comments on the last chapter too, guys - I really appreciate all of you <3\. You all really motivated me to get my shit together and update! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the endnotes for some updates :). I hope you're all doing well and hanging in there. 
> 
> As it's been a while (are we even surprised anymore? Didn't think so lol) please re-read the previous chapter if you'd like a refresher :)

Minho woke up feeling uncharacteristically refreshed. 

And that's how he knew something was off.

He had let himself be little. In front of other people. The rest of his group  _knew_ and some of them had  _seen_ him and dear god, hadn't Jisung called him a  _baby?!_

Minho was embarrassed and angry and frustrated. Why couldn't he just be okay with this? His secret was out in the open now, so what was the problem? Why was he struggling so much to just accept himself and be little around people who obviously cared for and accepted him? 

Well, most of them did. Changbin was still an issue. 

Minho didn't understand why the younger was so mad at him. All things considered, Minho hadn't really done anything wrong. He could understand Changbin being concerned about leaving the other littles alone with him to take care of, but that had never been unsafe and Minho had  _always_ kept himself together for the little ones. 

Be that as it may, Minho could think of very few things that would propel him to physically hurt another member of the group, as Changbin had done the day before by pushing him.

Minho's face still flared up in embarrassment while thinking about how he just  _took_ that. He didn't stand up for himself or hit back or do anything really (does having a panic attack count?) and Minho was  _mad_ about it. Had it been any other day, he would have blocked Changbin's blow before it even happened and delivered one of his own in defense. 

Minho shook his head in defiance. No. He was not going to let being little  _one time_ mean that the others could hurt and take advantage of him.

Minho cautiously eyed Woojin's still sleeping form that was next to him on the bed. He also tried very hard to not let the fact that he had shared a bed with someone - with _Woojin_ give him butterflies. He gently slid out from under the blankets, moving slowly to avoid waking up Chan on the other side of the bedroom. Minho had to fight the strong urge to curl back up with either one of them and let them take care of him. He knew he couldn't do that anymore, knew that he didn't deserve it. 

\---

After leaving Woojin and Chan's room (Minho didn't even remember being put to sleep there how  _humiliating_ )he ducked back into his own room and grabbed some fresh clothing out of his dresser. Deciding to forego a shower, Minho yanked the shirt over his head and marched back out into the lounge. Seungmin and Jeongin were in the kitchen, both going silent once they spotted Minho. 

"Hyung? What are you doing up so early?" Jeongin asked tentatively. He hated that they were treating him differently now. Walking on eggshells around him, using soft voices as if anything louder would break him. He was still the same person as before, why couldn't they see that?

"Practice. Why aren't you two ready yet?" Minho asked, pulling the orange juice out of the refrigerator.

"We have the day off, remember? Hyungs thought you could..." Seungmin started but trailed off at Minho's strong gaze and Jeongin's less-than-subtle elbow jab.

"Thought I could what?" Minho asked, much more harshly than he'd meant to. 

"...Be little?" Jeongin finished, voice nearly a whisper. Minho didn't miss it when they both backed away from him the slightest amount.

Minho huffed, pulling out a glass from the cabinet. "And why would I want to do that?" 

Minho downed his orange juice before either of the other boys could respond. The two shared a nervous look while Minho nearly threw his glass into the dishwasher. "I'm going to go practice. Let the others know, yeah?"

Minho didn't wait for a response.

\---

If his constantly buzzing phone was anything to go by, Minho was definitely in some deep shit.

He refused to let the thought convince him to check his phone. He was  _practicing,_ didn't the others see how important this was? The last thing he needed was to spend another day at home being coddled while he could be bettering himself and bettering the group that he was currently putting so much strain on because of his  _issues._

Besides, he wasn't scared of Chan and Woojin's reactions to him storming out of the dorm. And he most definitely wasn't concerned about worrying them. And Minho definitely, 100%, was totally not worried about how the others would react to him coming home tonight.

Turns out, Minho didn't have to worry for long, because one of his members came to him.

Their eyes locked in the mirror and Minho stilled. Disbelief filled his features before annoyance took its place. "Come to shove me again?" he yelled over the music, refusing to turn it off and stop what he was working on.

Changbin moved over to the speaker and hit pause. Minho scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

" _What?_ What do you want?" Minho hissed, watching as Changbin changed the song. Familiar notes wafted through the speakers and Changbin moved to his position. Minho stared at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

"I need to practice too, hyung," Changbin muttered, and Minho could tell he was nervous. It was hard to feel bad for him, though.

"Well  _that's_ obvious," Minho quipped, and the hurt expression on Changbin's face did not make him feel bad. No it did not.

The two danced together for a while, and Minho would be lying if he said that dancing didn't make him a whole lot less angry than he'd been before. It was also so nice to be near Changbin again without all the fighting and negativity getting in the way. By the time the two had run through several songs and both were drenched in sweat, Minho felt as though he could finally stomach talking to the younger boy again.

Minho swallowed his pride and prepared to do something he  _never_ does - apologize first. But he knew Chanbin was just as stubborn as he was and if he didn't grow up and act like a hyung in this situation, that it would never get resolved. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry. I guess, you know, for lying. And for watching the kids when it could have ended badly."

Minho  _hated_ feeling vulnerable, absolutely  _despised_ it, and Changbin's unimpressed look had him wishing he could retract his words.

"It was really stupid, hyung," Changbin mumbled, and right before Minho was ready to start throwing hands because  _really? How dare he?!_ Changbin continued, "You could have hurt the littles. Or  _you_ could have gotten hurt."

Okay. Logically, Minho could understand that. "I wasn't worried about myself. Taking care of them is what mattered. I never would have let myself slip -"

"But how do you know that though? You're a  _little,_ hyung. Little's can't control when they drop sometimes, it's in your DNA to-"

"Stop," Minho was furious once again. Disbelief and hurt began chipping away at him. Just when he had considered forgiving Changbin, just when he thought that they had begun to take steps in the right direction, Changbin was pulling this shit again. "I don't know who you think you are. But you have no idea what I've been through and my  _DNA,_ " Minho practically spat the word, "is absolutely none of your business. I don't have to justify myself to you."

Changbin seemed to deflate slightly, "I know you don't, hyung. But you put my littles in danger, you put  _yourself_ in danger by not telling us."

Minho sucked in a breath and flinched.  _My littles._ Minho was very aware of the fact that Changbin didn't include him. "They don't _belong_ to you, they're human fucking beings," Minho spat in a weak attempt to cover up his hurt. "Being a little doesn't make me, or them, any less than you." 

Stubbornly, before Changbin had a chance to respond, Minho pulled away and turned back to the speakers. "If this is how it's going to be, then just leave. I thought you were here to apologize to me for the shit you did yesterday but I guess I was wrong. Just leave, Changbin."

"Of course I know they're not lesser to me! I just don't understand why you didn't tell us." Changbin huffed, and he was close again. Much too close. Minho backed away. "I am sorry for pushing you. I never should have done that, it was childish and immature and I know that. But I don't take back what I said - I probably could have worded it better, but the meaning still stands."

Minho scoffed yet again, turning away once more. He was done with this conversation. If Changbin didn't want to at least hear him out, there was no point.

Changbin seemed to realize that he wasn't getting anywhere either. "Minho, why didn't you just tell us?" 

Minho froze. Time seemed to stand still as he realized what Changbin was trying to do. The missing honorific. He knew that tone. That fucking  _tone._ The " _Jisungie, why did you break Jeonginnie's red crayon?"_ tone, the  _"Felix, you know yelling isn't polite, please use your indoor voice,"_ tone. Disappointment. Caregiver disappointment. And Minho fucking  _despised_ that despite the situation and how angry he was, it was getting to him, making him feel guilty, making him want to beg for Changbin's forgiveness.

"Get out." Minho hated how soft his voice was. How weak, small, fragile it sounded. He felt sick. His anger from before was melting into panic.

"Minho, baby-" Changbin started, but a whimper cut him off.

" _Stop it,"_  Minho uttered, shrinking into himself. He didn't want this right now, didn't want to be little in front of Changbin. Why couldn't he see that?! "Please, Changbin, please stop."

"It's okay, Minho, I've got you, it's okay, hyung's here-"

Changbin referring to himself as  _hyung_ was the final straw. Minho flew back to himself full force, panic making way for pure _rage,_  swinging around to face Changbin before he knew what he was doing. When Changbin tried to reach out to him, Minho shoved him away as hard as he could. Changbin hit the floor in a sickening reflection of events from the day before.

"How dare you, how fucking  _dare you?!_ " Minho spat, glaring down at Changbin, "Stay the fuck away from me."

\---

Minho didn't even register his walk back to the dorm. 

He had started off seething, angry, so so, angry. How dare Changbin try to talk him down without his consent? What gave him the right? Minho felt sick. He didn't want this, didn't want any of it. Chan and Woojin had made such an effort to wait for Minho's okay to talk him down. They had waited for his permission before using  _that_ tone on him. He hated how cold he felt.

Minho felt empty, numb. Emotions began to reach a boiling point as he arrived at the door to their dorm. The door swung open just as Minho's dam broke. 

It felt like someone was choking him, and he was so fucking scared that he couldn't breathe. He felt lost, off-balance, small. Like someone had dunked his head under ice water and held him there - not letting him up for air, refusing to let him get warm.

Chan. Woojin. He needed Chan and Woojin. He needed them so badly he could cry. He already _was_ crying.

He tried to call out for them but the only thing that left his throat was a strangled cry. He hated that. Hated how weak he sounded.

A head popped around the corner, and Seungmin's cheerful gaze met Minho's tearful one. His smile quickly faded into concern and Minho heard him call out for Chan.

Chan. Chan.  _Chan. Chan. Chan._

Minho's hands clutched at his chest and it felt like an eternity before Chan rounded the corner. Kind eyes met Minho's broken ones. Two syllables were all it took to have Chan dashing across the hallway to take Minho into his arms, rocking him back and forth to try to calm his sobs. 

The word echoed in the hallway and rang clear as day in Chan's ears.

_Daddy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm back :)
> 
> So I have broken this chapter into two parts (this is the itty bitty part) and a somewhat longer part (to be posted tomorrow or Sunday) and I've been writing this since September. I got about halfway through when October happened. I'll be honest - Woojin leaving really did a number on me, on top of all the other shit that happened last month both in the Kpop community and in my personal life. 
> 
> I hope he's okay, and I hope the rest of our boys are okay. Let's continue to support them, and to do the best we can to remain positive. Stays have got to stick together during times like these. If you need to talk, I am here for all of you <3.
> 
> Also, just so you all know, Woojin will not be leaving any of my stories. He will continue to be present and his departure will never be written by me. I know it's different now, but for me, and for so many of us Stays, nine or none will always stand. I hope you all can understand my reasoning for keeping Woojin in this story. 
> 
> I'll be back soon with the rest of this chapter :). The next part will (finally) be a bit lighter but still be mostly angst lol. But the final part will be fluffy cuddly time! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again! Wow, me updating twice within a weekend? Crazy right?

Minho was hysterical.

Chan could see the tell-tale signs of a little that'd been slammed from  _adult angry_ to  _headspace frustration_ anywhere - Felix was guilty of it more often than Chan would care to admit. The boy would go from being frustrated and embarrassed about critiques in dance practice or Korean lessons or vocal instruction to a meltdown in headspace in the blink of an eye. 

But with Minho, as so many things were, it was different. Chan could feel his frustration and hurt, but he still wasn't sure what had caused it. Asking Minho proved to be difficult too - he kept hiding in Chan's neck and crying harder whenever Chan tried to pull him away. Chan was at a bit of a loss as to what to do, the other littles rarely acted like this and  _where the hell was Woojin?!_

Changbin's words kept bouncing around in Minho's head, and he didn't know how to tell Chan so that he could make it better. 

_Little's can't control when they drop_

_You could have hurt the littles_

_You could have hurt_ _**my** __littles_

_You aren't my little_

_You don't belong_

Minho's breath hitched as Changbin's words began to twist in his head. Had Changbin really said that? What was real? What if Chan felt that way? What if they  _all_ felt that way?

Minho choked on another sob, refusing to let go of Chan even though his head was screaming that he didn't deserve it. He was bad. He had disappointed everyone, Changbin had told him so.

Big Minho knew that Changbin was full of it and had no right to try to force him to drop like he did. But little Minho couldn't shake the feeling that he was bad and had done something wrong, something that he deserved to be punished for.

The door clicking open behind him is what startled Minho out of his daze enough to regain a bit of coherency. He didn't know who it was until Chan spoke.

"Changbin? What were you doing out?" Chan asked, but paused - eyes darting between the baby in his lap to the  _incredibly_ guilty-looking caregiver in the doorway. At the sound of Changbin's name, Minho had flinched, going completely silent and still in Chan's arms. There was no way that was a coincidence.

"I-is he okay?" just the  _sound_ of Changbin's voice had Minho feeling like he was going to be sick. He whined into Chan's neck. He wanted  _out._

"Changbin, what did you do?" Chan demanded, and Changbin's eyes filled with tears.

"I don't k-know why I did it, hyung, I was just so mad and scared and so disappointed -" Changbin was cut off by a barely-muffled whimper at the word 'disappointed'. This did not go unnoticed. "I was mad and disappointed at him for not telling us and we both just kept making stupid jabs at each other so I, I um, I tried to..."

"You tried to what?" Chan hissed out, and Minho tightened his grip on the older's shirt.

"I, um, I tried to talk him down?" 

Chan froze, and Minho felt the moment he stopped breathing. 

"You did  ** _what?_** " Minho had never heard Chan sound like that. Chan  _rarely_ got angry. Minho felt terrible. This was all his fault.

Chan stood, keeping Minho plastered to his chest like a baby koala. "I'm going to take Minho to Woojin. We're not having this conversation in front of him," before turning away completely, Chan added one final thought, "You shouldn't be disappointed with Minho. The only person you should be disappointed with is yourself."

\---

Chan carried Minho through the dorm, desperately on a search for Woojin. He would know what to do. Woojin always knew what to do.

Chan felt clueless and lost when his eyes locked with Woojin's - he had been in the living room looking after Felix and Jeongin. Woojin immediately stood, calling for Hyunjin to come take over while he gently tugged Chan into their shared bedroom, the younger still holding Minho close.

"I don't know what to do," Chan murmured as the three sat down on Woojin's bed. Minho reached out to grab his blanket that was still there from the night before. He tugged on it until he found the right corner and proceeded to stuff it in his mouth. He was completely oblivious to the fond looks the two caregivers directed at him.

"What happened? Seugmin said that Minho was upset when he got home and that he ran to go get you? He also said that he called you..."

Chan's cheeks flushed as he remembered that yes, Minho had definitely, finally called him  _daddy._ "Yeah. that was  _amazing_. but that isn't what I'm worried about. Changbin apparently snuck out to talk to Minho at the practice rooms, even though we had  _all_ agreed to give him some time and space to think," Woojin's hand reached out to rub comforting circles on Chan's knees, silently keeping him on track, "Minho was a mess when he came home. He wouldn't stop crying and he wouldn't talk to me or tell me what happened. I think," Chan motioned subtly to Minho, who was reclined in his lap, still suckling on his blanket, eyes almost drifting closed, "I think he's in a really young headspace. But he kept getting restless and talking nonsense and acting suspiciously a lot like our other little ones do when they're in trouble for something." 

Woojin faltered, not liking where the conversation was headed. "Do we know why he was acting like that?" 

"Changbin," Chan sighed, still trying to process it himself, "Changbin said that they were fighting. That they 'kept making jabs at each other' and he didn't think the conversation was going anywhere. So Changbin told Minho that he was disappointed in him and he tried to talk him down."

Woojin's eyes widened. He sucked in a breath, running a hand through his hair, "And that would be why he's so upset."

"This isn't good, is it?" Chan asked, both about Changbin's behavior and Minho's current behavior. The little was slowly drifting off in Chan's lap, and Chan would be lying if it wasn't incredibly adorable, but also very worrying. Woojin nodded, leaning down to be eye-level with Minho. The younger offered him a sleepy smile, reaching out a hand to grasp at Woojin's blonde hair. Chan almost lost his shit at the  _cuteness._

"Hey sweetheart," Woojin said softly, earning him another sleepy smile. "Can you tell us what happened?" 

Minho faltered, smile making way for a wobbly lip and tear-brimmed eyes. He shook his head, hiding his face behind his blanket and flinching away from Woojin. 

"Oh baby, you're not in trouble." Chan soothed, rubbing circles on Minho's back. Minho shook his head once again.

"Binnie mad," Minho mumbled. "'m bad." 

"Honey, you are  _not_ bad," Woojin was quick to reassure, "Binnie was wrong to talk to you that way." It was the simplest way to explain such a complex situation to someone so fragile.

Minho whined and shook his head, quickly working himself back up to tears, "Don' feel good."  

Chan held him while he cried. His gaze locked with Woojin's. The older looked just as clueless as he felt.

"Should we settle him for a nap?" Chan suggested, thinking it may calm the little down. Woojin nodded, helping to maneuver Chan to lean against the wall with Minho still clinging to his chest. Minho whined at being jostled, grip tightening even more on Chan's shirt. Both Woojin and Chan shushed him, telling him to just close his eyes and go to sleep. Once the tears had finally stopped and Minho's grip had relaxed, facial features melting from upset to exhausted, Woojin pulled a spare blanket over the two. Chan was determined to stay with Minho so that the boy wouldn't wake up alone.

Woojin took a deep breath before heading out into the lounge. He found Changbin in his room, headphones blaring some American rock group. He had his eyes screwed shut, and his puffy eyelids immediately revealed to Woojin that he had been crying. Woojin placed a gentle hand on Changbin's shoulder, and the younger didn't look at all surprised to see him. He removed his headphones and moved over on the bed to make room for Woojin. He folded his hands in his lap and kept his gaze downward.

"Changbin," Woojing began, "Can you please explain to me what happened today?"

Changbin shifted, opening and closing his mouth to speak several times before actually doing so. "I knew Minho hyung was at the practice rooms, so I went to go talk to him. I know we all agreed not to, and I'm sorry for sneaking out. I just wanted to try to make things right with him. I've thought about it so much and I knew how I reacted was terrible and the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him but that's all I've been  _doing,_ " Changbin huffed, clearly angry with himself, "I told myself that I was going there to apologize to him. And I did, but not before saying terrible things and riling us both back up again. He just, I was so mad, and scared, because he could have hurt Felix, or Seungmin, or Jeongin, or Jisung. How are you and Chan okay with that?" Changbin asked, not unkindly. He just looked as though he honestly did not understand.

Woojin thought for a moment. "Minho never did anything wrong when taking care of them. He did amazing, especially with his lack of instincts for how to take care of little ones. Caregivers are lucky enough to be born knowing the right things to say, and we easily pick up skills such as how to make a bottle, or change a diaper, or soothe a little to sleep. He had to learn all of those things to be there for our other babies," Woojin nodded to himself, continuing, "and he never did anything to hurt them or put them in danger. None of us ever expected anything out of the ordinary when we left any of the littles with him, and he was only ever completely alone with one or two of them a handful of times. He had to work harder than any of us caregivers do to take care of them." 

Woojin had been watching Changbin carefully. When silent tears began falling down the younger's cheeks, Woojin reached out a hand. Changbin gladly took it.

"Can you tell me what's really bothering you about all of this?" Woojin asked.

"My older sister," Woojin hummed in acknowledgment - encouraging Changbin to continue. "She's a little. When we were younger, our parents left us with a babysitter. That was pretty normal. But our usual sitter was out of town and so my parents found a new one last minute on Facebook. They didn't do a background check or anything, because of course their fancy dinner was more important. The sitter got there and something was off. She was cooking dinner for me and my sister when a bowl got knocked off the counter and shattered on the floor. The sitter, who had said she was a caregiver, dropped because of the noise and so my sister tried to clean up the glass to keep her from getting hurt. She slipped and fell, and a piece of glass cut her knee open. I still have nightmares about running into the kitchen and seeing both of them on the floor, my sister covered in blood. She had to get so many stitches and was terrified of being left with a sitter ever again. All because the babysitter lied about being a caregiver." Changbin finished.

Woojin blinked, now more easily able to understand the logic behind Changbin's actions. "You were just scared of something like that happening with our babies, weren't you?" 

Changbin nodded, furiously wiping his eyes to rid them of the tears. "I know nothing like that ever happened when hyung watched them. And I know Minho hyung would never have meant to hurt them. But he _could_ have. Something bad  _could_ have happened."

"But it didn't," Woojin said, "nothing bad happened. Minho was never left alone with them for a long time, and backup was always just a phone call away. You can't keep holding this against him, Changbin. He was doing what he needed to do to protect himself from us. A lot of things are possible to do when you're scared."

Changbin shifted, looking guilty once again, "I just hate that he didn't tell us. That we weren't taking care of him all this time." 

"I don't like that he was alone, either. And I don't like how Chan and I assumed that he was a caregiver when we first met. All of this could have been avoided, had we just asked him a simple question," Changbin looked like he was about to protest Woojin blaming himself, " _however_ ,Chan and I chose to confront our feelings and discuss them in a healthy way with Minho. We apologized to him and explained ourselves as best as we could, and only after we asked for his  _expressed_ permission, did we try to talk him down." 

"I know that was fucked up. That was so wrong of me. I don't even know how to go about making it right with him," Changbin sniffled.

"You can start by apologizing. And by not  _ever_ using that tone on him again unless he tells you that you can. Don't rush him, Binnie. It's going to take him a long time to heal from all of this."

\--- 

Woojin's prediction of ' _a long time'_ turned out to be incredibly correct. Minho was hurt, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. For the next couple of days, he dodged everyone, Woojin and Chan included. And the worst part of it was that they couldn't blame him. Changbin had broken his trust in caregivers, and it didn't matter currently to Minho that Chan and Woojin had never done anything to intentionally hurt him. All he knew was that Changbin, someone he never thought would do so, had hurt him in a way he couldn't even put into words.

Minho wasn't handling it well.

He had shoved his headspace into the very back corner of his mind, back where it used to hide before the members knew. Not that too much had changed, really.

Minho threw himself back into dancing, practicing every moment of every day until his legs physically gave out from underneath him. If he was moving, he wasn't thinking. And if Minho wasn't thinking, he wouldn't be able to remember why he was hurting in the first place. 

He also wasn't eating. Eating made him think of the last time he had done so - when Chan had fed him little bites of chicken nugget and he had been happy for once. He caught sleep whenever he could - which wasn't often at the company. He refused to bring his blanket with him, which essentially meant that Minho hadn't slept in three days.

It was at the end of day three that Hyunjin cracked. He snuck into the practice room and watched with teary eyes as Minho put so much  _passion_ into every move he was making. It didn't matter that Minho hadn't slept, eaten, or taken a break in three days. To Hyunjin, Minho was still one of the most amazing, talented people in the world.

"Hey, hyung." Hyunjin spoke softly when the song ended, startling Minho from where he had leaned over to select the next song on his phone. Minho's eyes widened for a brief moment before he shrunk back into himself.

"What's up?" both he and Hyunjin knew the answer to that. Minho knew why Hyunjin was here. To drag him back to the dorm to get some rest, most likely. Maybe so Chan and Woojin could force-feed him. In all honesty, that scenario didn't sound half bad.

"Can we talk?" Hyunjin looked nervous, and Minho hated how intimidating he could be at times. He knew he wasn't the most approachable, or loveable, or the most  _anything_ really-

"Of course we can." Minho leaned against the practice room wall, turning off the sound system completely. It was late, anyways. Leaving with Hyunjin to get some sleep after this conversation was probably the smartest thing to do - no matter how nervous he was to do so.

"You haven't been home in three days," Hyunjin blurted. "We're worried and we miss you."

Minho smiled softly, "I know, I'm sorry. I don't know why my first instinct is to always run. I just couldn't stomach being back there right now." Minho replied.

"We understand, that's why we haven't been pushing you. Woojin hyung has been stress pacing since Monday, and I think Channie hyung is going gray though, so maybe you could come back tonight?" Hyunjin asked tentatively. How could Minho say no to those puppy eyes?

"Of course I can. I was actually planning to, anyways." 

Hyunjin hesitated before speaking again. Minho could tell he was anxious about something. "I also need to apologize to you for something, hyung."

Minho's brow furrowed in confusion, before he nodded for Hyunjin to continue. "I was the one that went into your room and found your blanket."

Okay. Minho sucked in a breath and pulled away slightly. Up to this point, he had believed Changbin was the one that had found his blanket and given it back to Jisung. Minho hadn't suspected Hyunjin for a second.

Hyunjin looked desperate, "I was worried. You were acting weird, and the more I watched, the more I realized how much we had all been missing. I wanted to talk to Chan hyung about it but I didn't want to do it before I had proof, because you know how stressed out he is. So I, I went into your room and I know that's your one rule and I'm so  _sorry._ I was just so worried, and I wanted to find something to help Chan start the conversation with you, so that you wouldn't have to hide anymore." 

Silence filled the room. Minho didn't have to look hard at Hyunjin to tell that the younger was sincere and felt much more guilty about the situation than was necessary. "It's okay, Jinnie. Please don't feel bad about it. I understand why you did it, and I'm not mad."

Hyunjin looked at him in disbelief. "But your  _rule-_ "

"Is mainly there to keep the little messy monsters out of my space," Minho finished. "You  _saw_ how meticulous my bedroom is."

"I did," Hyunjin laughed, sniffing slightly. Minho was hurled back into a loop of guilt over how much pain he must be causing everyone. 

A brief pause filled the room, before Hyunjin spoke softly once again, "Do you want to talk about it?" And Minho wanted to say no, didn't want to re-open this wound once again, but words were toppling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I'm scared," Minho blurted, without thinking. But once he had opened the floodgates, everything came pouring out at once. "I just keep fucking up. I lied for so long for no good reason and I have no right to be hurt by all of your reactions, but I  _am,_ and Changbin, Changbin  _scared me, Hyunjin,_ I was so _scared._ "

Hyunjin was stunned, at a complete loss for words. He had only seen Minho cry a total of two times, and the first had only been a week ago. "Oh,  _hyung-_ "

"I wanted him to stop, Jinnie. I told him to stop and he didn't and now I'm scared the rest of you will do the same." It felt raw, finally accepting the conclusion he had been working so hard to hide from himself and forget about for the past few days.

"Hyung, I -I know that actions speak louder than words but, Chan and Woojin and I would never do anything like that to you. The hyungs taught us so much about consent and never forcing a little into headspace, and it makes me so  _mad_ that Changbin tried to do that to you. He told us about his reasons, but," Hyunjin shook his head, "it doesn't matter. He still did what he did and he needs to own up to it. What he did was so  _wrong, hyung,_ and I _promise_ that I will never do that to you. Ever."

Hyunjin wiped his eyes with his sleeve, while Minho did the same. The two shared weak, watery smiles. After a moment, Minho nodded. "I think I know that. But I never thought Changbin would do it, so." Minho shrugged, "I hate how impossible dropping feels now. I had paradise for a half a day and now I've ruined it again."

"No, you didn't." Hyunjin was quick to reassure, "You didn't ruin anything, hyung. Please come home. Please let us take care of you?" 

It took a long time, but eventually, Minho nodded. He stood, letting Hyunjin take his hand and help him collect his stuff from the wall of the practice room. Hyunjin flicked off the lights as the two left, hand-in-hand, heading back to the dorms together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a very long rollercoaster, we're finally getting some resolution! My goal for this fic was to really explore characters and have more of an arc for each of them than I've had in my previous works. I will be posting the final part to this (hopefully) next weekend! 
> 
> Thank you all for your supportive and encouraging comments on the last chapter. It truly meant a lot to me to know that so many of you care not only about my writing, but about me as a person. I hope you all have an amazing day! Feel free to leave feedback as well <3.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The last chapter of Brave. 
> 
> Don't be sad, this isn't the end! I'm writing a part of this series for each member. These will be coming soon :)

Minho felt his walls begin to build themselves back up as he neared the door to their dorm. His hand was still tightly interlocked with Hyunjin's, which did wonders to help keep him calm but little to slow his racing heart.

Minho kicked off his shoes and gently dropped Hyunjin's hand as they entered the hallway. He had aimed to just head back to his room and get some rest, but deep down he knew it wouldn't be that easy. It never was.

To get to his bedroom, Minho had to pass through the kitchen and the living room. Highly inconvenient, if you were trying to avoid people. He made it through the kitchen unscathed, but as he neared the living room he began to pick up on the arguments taking place in the space. 

Minho hated that the group was still arguing.

_It's your fault._

Minho made a loud show of throwing his water bottle into the sink and washing it, as well as opening and closing several drawers for good measure. Whatever the others were arguing about in the living room, Minho wanted no part of it. He vaguely registered Hyunjin walking behind him and into the living room.

Minho stalled even more by taking the time to refill his water bottle under the dispenser on the refrigerator, putting it back into his duffle bag in preparation for the next day. He braced himself in the doorway before entering the living room, determined to just sneak past them all and lock himself in his room for the night.

"Woah, woah, hey." Chan reached out, hand gently wrapping around Minho's arm. "Can we talk for a bit, sweetheart?" 

Minho couldn't be mad, he really couldn't. He knew why they needed to talk. Minho was tearing the group apart because he couldn't just work through his fucking issues.

His eyes lifted, quickly realizing that all of the members were staring at him, trying to gauge his reaction. All except for Changbin, who wouldn't make eye contact with him. Minho angrily wondered what he had told the others about their confrontation a few days ago, as he had no recollection of what he'd told Chan while Minho had been sobbing into his neck.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Minho said, voice barely above a mumble. "We can talk."

"Okay," Chan smiled reassuringly at Minho, and despite the situation, it calmed Minho substantially. "Changbin?" Chan prompted, Minho flinching at the edge to his tone. He'd been hearing a lot of it lately. Far too much.

"H-hyung, I-" Changbin started, eyeing the boys surrounding them, cheeks flushed in embarrassment for having to apologize in front of everyone. Chan couldn't have cared less. He would be damned if he allowed Changbin and Minho to be alone in the same room again, without them talking their shit out first. "I'm so sorry. I should never have cornered you like that. That was such a dick move and I am so  _sorry._ " Changbin sniffled, blinking away tears. Minho found it hard to feel bad for him. "When we were kids, my sister got hurt by a babysitter who was a little pretending to be a caregiver. So when I heard that you were a little, I panicked. I was so scared about what could have happened to the littles while you were watching them. But then Woojin hyung knocked some sense into me and reminded me that nothing had ever happened while you were taking care of them, and I realized that I needed to stop holding this against you." 

Changbin took a cautious step towards Minho, "I was such an asshole. And I can understand if you're not ready or willing to forgive me. What I did was unforgivable, it doesn't matter what my reasoning for it was. I'm so sorry, hyung." Changbin choked, tears flowing freely down his cheeks now. 

Minho was crying too. He was so mad and hurt by Changbin, but it was harder to hold it against him now that he knew why Changbin had been so upset with him. 

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that, right?" Minho said with a watery laugh, delivering a soft punch to the younger's shoulder. "I'm still mad at you. But just give it time. You always find a way to slither yourself back into my good graces." 

Changbin stared at him with wide eyes, as if not believing what he was hearing. His eyes glassed over and his face twisted and he lunged himself at Minho, wrapping his arms around him as he sniffled into his neck. Minho rolled his eyes fondly, allowing Changbin to have his moment.

Despite Changbin messing up as badly as he had, Minho couldn't stay mad at him for long. Changbin was still young, he was still learning so much about being a caregiver. Minho took one look at the boy crying in his arms and knew that Changbin hadn't meant anything intentionally malicious by his actions. Although it had taken him a while, he had owned up to it and accepted responsibility, and that's really all Minho could ever ask of him.

Minho loved his members with every piece of his heart. Changbin had a lot of growing up to do, but Minho knew Changbin was capable of becoming a strong, dependable caregiver. There were bound to be bumps on the way, and Minho hated how much he had been hurt by them. But as he looked down at Changbin clutching his shirt tightly and felt (as well as heard) the collective sigh of relief from the other members at the tension finally being resolved, Minho knew he was making the right choice by being forgiving.

Eventually, the group shifted towards the couches. Jeongin popped in a lazy comedy movie, and Changbin pulled away from Minho with an embarrassed, shy smile and shifted to pull Felix into his arms while Minho plopped down in between Woojin and Chan. Woojin sent him a questioning gaze that Minho knew was meant to ask  _are you okay?_ and he gave a reassuring, albeit tired, smile in response.

Everyone seemed to settle down after that. The draining of tension seemed to tire them all out, and not even ten minutes into the film, Minho's head drooped to rest on top of Woojin's shoulder. Woojin smiled fondly, wrapping a comforting arm around him.

Woojin locked eyes with Chan, the two communicating without words. 

Things were going to be okay.

\---

Minho woke up in headspace the next day. And to Chan's pleasant surprise, that wasn't even the most shocking thing he'd see that day.

Chan awoke due to being shaken by Woojin, who was wearing a worried expression that immediately had Chan snapping out of the fog of sleep. "What's wrong? What happened? Is everyone okay?" Chan asked hurriedly, voice still muddled with sleep.

"Minho's gone. I think he snuck off to the studio again." Chan's eyes widened, looking down at the bare space between him and Woojin that Minho had fallen asleep in the night prior. 

"How does he  _do_ that?!" Chan huffed, throwing back the blankets. "Sneaky little..." Chan trailed off as he pulled a hoodie on over his sleep shirt, Woojin waiting anxiously by the door. If Minho wanted space, that was okay. But Chan and Woojin  _needed_ him to know that he was still loved and they were still here to take care of him.

The two rushed out of their bedroom and towards the front door but froze when they saw what was happening in the living room.

Minho and Jeongin were on the floor. The two were stacking blocks and were so concentrated on making sure their creation didn't topple over that neither of them noticed the caregivers watching them. Chan's wide eyes met Woojin's equally wide ones.

After one block too many were placed on top of the tower by Minho's shaky hands, it veered slowly to the left, right before crumbling into a messy pile on the carpet. Minho's lower lip wobbled as he turned to stare helplessly at Jeongin.

Woojin and Chan weren't surprised in the slightest when Jeongin offered a bright smile in response to Minho's devastation at the tower being destroyed. "'S okay, Minnie! Now we can build a better one!" 

"Really?" Minho asked softly, watching as Jeongin began stacking the blocks again.

"Really really!" Jeongin reassured, poking Minho in the side and sending him into a fit of giggles.

"What are our little ones doing up so early?" Woojin asked, walking over to the two with Chan trailing behind. 

Jeongin startled, happy eyes going wide as he saw Woojin and Chan. "Daddy! Appa!" 

Chan suddenly had an armful of snuggly Jeongin as Woojin crouched down to help Minho with his tower. Minho seemed shy, which was understandable considering all that had happened. Woojin mumbled a "Good morning, angel," and asked if he could help Minho build a new version of his tower. Minho nodded, still not quite meeting Woojin's eyes.

While the two played quietly together, Woojin faintly wondered how Minho had ended up out in the living room with Jeongin in the first place. He didn't have to wonder for long, as he heard Jeongin animatedly explaining what had happened from his perch in Chan's lap on the couch. 

"I couldn't sleep so I came and made tower! And then Minnie came outta your room and he looked sad and lost and he was crying, Daddy! So I had him make towers with me and then he didn't cry no more!"

Chan ruffled Jeongin's hair, telling him how proud he was that Jeongin had been such a nice friend and had taken care of Minho and helped him feel better. Eventually, the sound of a few other members moving about the dorm had Minho whining, crawling into Woojin's lap and attempting to hide. "Do you want to head back to our room and play there, baby?" Woojin asked while rubbing soothing circles on Minho's back. Minho nodded, and Woojin scooped him up, stopping at the toy chest to grab a few coloring books and other toys to keep Minho busy and distracted.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" Woojin asked after gently depositing Minho onto the bed and presenting him with a wide array of toys to choose from. Minho still seemed hesitant, reaching for a toy but then pulling his hand back. He repeated this action several times.

"...mad?" Minho asked, so softly that Woojin had almost missed it.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Woojin asked.

Minho looked confused. "I make you and Daddy mad 'cause I run away again. A-and Binnie-'yung cry."

"Sweetheart," Woojin started, taking a deep breath and pulling Minho into his lap. "Daddy and I aren't mad at you. You were a very good boy when you listened to what Changbin had to say and forgave him. Binnie was very sorry, and that's why he was crying yesterday. Daddy and I are proud of you, we aren't mad, angel." 

"Really?" Minho asked, eyeing Woojin with the same innocence he had eyed Jeongin with earlier.

"Really really." Woojin laughed, booping Minho on the nose.

"Now, do you want to color or play with stuffed animals?"

\---

The next few days carried on as normal. Rehearsals and practices resumed, as well as interviews and appearances. They were busy, but they nearly always were. 

Minho and Changbin had slowly started acting normally towards each other again. There were hiccups that would result in them not speaking to one another for an hour or two, but for the most part, any issues were resolved quickly. Minho could already feel things returning back to normal.

And he was incredibly grateful for that.

It was three weeks later that Minho came to Woojin and Chan with a very important statement. 

The group had just returned to the dorm after a long day of rehearsals led by Minho. Minho had been in an incredibly good mood, teaching each member with the enthusiasm the members had been missing so much for the last two months. 

"Hyungs? Can we talk for a minute?" Minho asked, refusing to let his nerves seep into his tone.

Woojin and Chan looked up at him from their spots on the couch. Minho asking to talk to one or both of them had recently become code for Minho needing help with dropping into headspace. As he was still uncomfortable with the thought of being little in front of the rest of the group, Chan or Woojin would usually stay with Minho in the eldest's shared bedroom while he was feeling small.

They both followed him into the room, Chan shutting the door behind the three. Minho took a deep breath and turned around, quickly blurting out, "I think I'm ready."

Chan's eyebrows furrowed, but Woojin was already beaming at Minho. "Ready for what?" Chan asked.

"To, uh, you know. Be around the rest." 

"Oh," Chan muttered, "Oh!" he exclaimed once again, after the weight of what Minho was saying to them finally sunk in. "That's great, honey! How would you like to do this?" 

Minho shrugged nervously, uttering a quiet, "I 'unno," and Chan and Woojin shared a look. Minho had recently started allowing himself to drop on his own and without embarrassment. Chan and Woojin were so proud of how far he had come.

"C'mere, baby," Woojin said, pulling Minho into his arms. Minho grinned, flinging himself at Woojin and burying his face in his neck.

"You wanna go say hi to the others?" Chan asked, stepping behind Woojin to run his hands through Minho's hair. Minho nodded, and Chan grinned when he saw that the boy was more excited than nervous now.

Minho was stood between Chan and Woojin, each caregiver holding one of his hands as they made their way out into the common area. Jisung froze at his spot on the couch, eyeing the three with rapt curiosity. He was unsure whether he should say something. If he were little, he would have already rushed over to Minho and demanded to squish his cheeks and play with him. But he was currently big and had no idea how to proceed.

Minho squeaked when he spotted Jisung sitting on the couch. He ducked behind Chan, poking his head out to stare at Jisung with wide eyes. Jisung giggled.

"Hi, baby!" Jisung slowly stood, making his way to be standing right in front of Chan. He poked his head around Chan, startling Minho into a fit of giggles. "Boo!" 

Minho took off, giggling hysterically as he dove behind the couch to hide from Jisung. Soon enough, both were in their headspaces chasing each other around the living room.

Hyunjin emerged from one of the other bedrooms, carrying a tired Seungmin on his back. Seeing what was happening in the living room, Seungmin jolted awake and slid off of Hyunjin's back, opting to hide behind the other while he gauged the situation.

Chan stifled a laugh at how similar Seungmin and Minho were. Once Seungmin figured out what was going on, he also jumped into the game - chasing Minho and Jisung around. This didn't phase either of them. Minho simply saw Seungmin, screamed, and dissolved into a fit of giggles as the two chased him.

Hyunjin shuffled to stand by Chan and Woojin, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "We wondered what the heck was loud enough to disrupt naptime." Hyunjin laughed.

Before the three caregivers knew it, Felix had run into the room and begun playing the game (the caregivers still had no idea who was chasing who or what the "rules" even were), and Jeongin sidled up to Chan asking to be held. Chan obliged, effortlessly hoisting Jeongin up into his arms. Woojin cooed, running a hand through Jeongin's hair. 

Changbin was next to enter, and for several minutes everything continued as normal. Until Minho darted out from under the coffee table and ran over to the caregivers, not looking up at their faces until he almost pummelled into someone. 

Minho froze as his eyes met Changbin's. He seemed to have an inner battle with himself, and Woojin was about to step in until Minho smiled hesitantly at Changbin and turned around to continue playing with the others. 

All of the caregivers let out a collective sigh of relief. Changbin looked to be near tears, shooting a watery smile at Woojin.

It didn't take an expert to see that Changbin had a lot of growing up to do. But he was working on becoming better and learning from his mistakes. 

The four caregivers stood next to each other and watched the littles play. Chan intertwined his fingers with Woojin's and the older squeezed back in reassurance. Chan rested his head on the older's shoulder.

"We've got this." Woojin mumbled into Chan's hair. "We're going to be okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end! It's been a long ride, and I'm sorry for keeping all of you waiting for so long. My goal for this year is to write more for fun! As of now, I have the Jeongin part of this series completely finished, and it WILL be posted tomorrow (or maybe even later today, so keep a look out!). 
> 
> Thank you all for being so patient with me. Within the last month, I've had my last finals week, graduated from college, and started my first full-time job in my field! So needless to say, life got a little hectic but with the New Year, its died down enough for me to begin writing again. This may be the end of "Brave", but I'll be writing so much more this year! 
> 
> Thank you guys again. You all bring such a light to my life and I'm so grateful for the comments, kudos, loud readers, silent readers, and everyone in between. Thank you, thank you, thank you <3.


End file.
